


Forbidden Attraction

by jordahparrish



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/M, malec and clizzy are less involved and more hinted at but... they're still there, slowly they're there ;)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-30 20:19:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6438784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordahparrish/pseuds/jordahparrish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia was certain she'd only feel the charm of a first love once, and he had been and gone. However, when Clary and Izzy take her out to the mundane world, she ends up feeling that way once again for a man that looks just like John, a mundane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mundane World

Lydia had loved John and she still did, even after his death her love for him didn't die with him. Then Alec came along, that wasn't love, it was just her purely caring for him and his cause, she was more than happy for him when he made the move to kiss Magnus at his own wedding. Lydia stayed strong, even though it was the second wedding she didn't get, but other people and their happiness were more important to her. She was going to head back to Idris, turn the cup over and get back to work there, but after the attack from Hodge, the Lightwood's practically begged her to stay at the institute with them, she gave in, saying perhaps she could stay for a little while longer. She had started to have more conversations with Clary, they somehow started speaking about the mundane world, Clary would explain how certain things worked and Lydia would be more than intrigued by it all.   
“If you're not busy right now, we should totally go out, explore the city a little bit?”  
“Well, I'm not busy but are you sure it's a good idea?”  
“The Valentine stuff is on the downlow for now and we girls deserve a break,” Clary shrugged, she glanced around, “we can get Izzy too.”  
“Sure,” Lydia let herself smile, “okay, but it'll only be quick.”  
“Of course!” Clary grinned and then quickly rushed away, Lydia knew she was on her way to get Izzy. After a moment, Clary returned with Izzy who was now also grinning.  
“Getting a glimpse of the mundie world, how exciting,” Izzy stated as she approached Lydia, “let's get going.”

***

Lydia watched the mundanes running about, she was sat between Izzy and Clary on a bench in the middle of a park. She raised one eyebrow as she examined them all, “it's so weird, these mundanes have no idea we exist, well they look at us and think we're humans, but we're saving them all from demons.”  
“It's kind of funny, I mean they have no clue what's happening around them, like girls who don't know that they're making out with a warlock,” she nodded over to a couple who were happily kissing each other, one of the girls had some form of spike erupting from her arms – obviously glamoured from the mundane, “and nobody realises that just across the road in an abandoned hotel, there's a vampire that worships jackets more than any God,” both Izzy and Clary began to laugh at the thought of Raphael.  
“And they've got no clue that we're defending them all from demons,” Clary let out a sigh, “it's strange to think I was clueless to all of this not too long ago.”  
“They're all quite strange, don't you think? The mundanes?” Lydia hummed, “they're all just milling around the place, like ants or something.”  
“Wow, you and Alec are literally the same,” Clary raised an eyebrow, “he said the same thing to me once.”  
“Lydia and Alec are basically just the male and female versions of each other,” Izzy grinned, “I mean, really.”  
Lydia let out a laugh, “thanks, I guess?”  
Clary leaned back on the bench and let out a sigh, “I kind of feel like I'm just a plain boring mundane again. Well, whilst it was kind of plain in comparison, it still had it's mysteries and it's villains.”  
“Villains in the Mundane world?”  
“Donald Trump,” Clary replied in a serious tone and then began to laugh, “perhaps he is a demon after all.”  
“I have no idea who that is,” Lydia hummed.  
“Keep it that way,” Clary nodded, “but I mean this world, although plain, is also fascinating.”  
“What's one of the mysteries of the mundane world?” Lydia looked to Clary as she asked the question, Clary hummed in thought before responding.  
“Love.”  
“Really?”  
“It's less part of the mundie world, more part of all of us, but sometimes when you see someone for the first time, you just know that there's something there.”  
“I think I know what you mean, I fell for John instantly when I first saw him, it was a quick connection kind of thing.”  
“Love at first sight, it's a mystery.”  
“Have you ever felt that way?” Izzy leaned forward and turned her head to look at Clary.  
Clary hesitated and then shook her head, “not really,” she whispered.  
“Oh,” Izzy looked down, remembering about the entire Jace and Clary scenario, “but it's strange as well, isn't it? You find someone and you think, you're the only one I'll ever be with...”  
“But then something tears you apart,” Lydia continued, “and you think, I'll never find anyone else.”  
“The question is, do you? Is there ever anybody who can make you feel how your first love made you feel?” Clary asked thoughtfully.  
“I don't think there is,” Lydia sighed, “I don't think I'll ever find someone like John.”

***

The girls moved on to another place, Clary was grinning as she ran over to a table, “Java Jones is like the best coffee truck, I swear, fun fact; in the alternate universe, Jace was the guy running this truck and it was called 'Java Jace'.”  
“That's great,” Izzy let out a small laugh.  
“This was like our little hangout spot,” Clary patted a table, “well, I mean... Actually Lydia wasn't in the other world... I think you probably lived somewhere else.”  
Lydia nodded and took a seat at the table as Clary quickly ordered some french press. Lydia looked around at the mundanes sat at their own tables, she imagined each of them having their own stories. She stopped when she saw one man sat by himself, he was deeply focused in reading a book, especially with the focused expression he looked exactly like John. She felt herself almost lose her breath as she saw him, it was close to how she felt when she first saw John. She didn't know how long she had been focusing on this man but she turned suddenly when Izzy snapped her fingers in front of her face.  
“Little miss Branwell seems awfully focused on that book guy,” she moved her eyebrows suggestively and let out a giggle, “what's so intriguing about him?”  
“He...” Lydia glanced back to the man and then back to Clary and Izzy who were both waiting with pure interest, “he looks like John.”  
“Really?” Clary squeaked, she quickly took a look at the man and nodded, “I bet you and John looked adorable together.”  
“I'd show you photos but they're all in Idris.”  
“That guy,” Izzy nodded over to the man reading the book, “totally took your breath away.”  
Lydia slowly nodded.  
“So how about that second time first love feeling?” Clary raised her eyebrows and waited for an answer. Lydia let out a laugh, she saw Izzy stand up from the table and watched as she made her way over to the guy she had been watching.  
“Oh no,” Lydia muttered under her breath.  
“Hi,” Izzy smiled politely as she stopped in front of the man, “so listen, my friend over there,” she pointed to Lydia and Clary, “the blonde one, was totally just checking you out and she won't come over her herself to say hi so I thought I'd say hi for her. I guess I should actually check, do you like girls? Because I shouldn't just assume like that I mean you might be only about guys and I-”  
“I like both,” the man responded with a small laugh, he glanced over to Lydia and a smile played on his face, “your friend is pretty cute.”  
“And are you single?”  
“Yes.”  
“How would you like to go on a date with my friend?”  
The man hesitated and looked between the girl at his table and the blonde at the other, then he gave a quick nod, “I could give it a try.”  
“Fantastic, are you busy tonight?”  
“Well, no, you work quickly, huh?”  
“I'm like cupid, but a sexy cupid.”  
“Right.”  
Izzy hummed, “can you meet Lydia right here tonight? Then take her to some fancy place?”  
“Uh, yeah, sure.”  
“Sweet, meet her at seven, don't be late,” Izzy smiled and walked back to the table where Clary was grinning and Lydia actually looked scared.  
“What did you just do?”  
“I got you a date, seven tonight, dress cute, he's totally into you.”


	2. The Mundane Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia prepares herself for her sudden date with the mundane man.

Izzy's fast approach on the mundane man definitely took Lydia by surprise, but she did find herself rushing through the institute to pick out a dress she could wear on her sudden date with the mundane man who she didn't even know the name of. She found a red dress and quickly pulled it on, smiling at herself in the mirror. She looked at the clock, it was only five, then she looked back to the mirror. She quickly took out the braid in her hair and brushed it out so it was plain and simple. John had always loved her braids, he sometimes even took to braiding her hair for her. She wrapped her hair in her fingers and began a new braid through her hair. She stayed focus on braiding her hair, strand over strand until she finally came to the ends. She tied the end with a clear hair elastic. She turned around when she saw someone else in the reflection, Alec was stood by the doorway, his eyebrows furrowed.  
“So, you are going on a date.”  
“Yeah.”  
“With a mundie?”  
“Apparently.”  
“I guess I can' t judge your choice in men, I'm kind of dating a downworlder now, but what made you like him? Aren't mundanes just all... well, mundane?”  
“I looked at him and... You know when Magnus came into the wedding, you struggled to breathe?”  
“Yeah.”  
“That happened. I mean, he just looks exactly... Like John.”  
“Do you feel safe? Just going on a date with a mundie?” Alec stopped by Lydia and they were both looking at the reflection.  
“I'll keep a seraph blade in my bag, just in case, feel better?”  
“Not entirely.”  
“Alec.”  
“This guy looks exactly like John?” He waited for Lydia to nod before continuing, “what if it's something like... Like when Valentine pretended to be Michael Wayland?”  
“You think someone's using the shapeshifting rune on me?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Alec...”  
“Just be cautious.”  
“I will be.”

***

Lydia walked up to the spot where she had seen the John lookalike, there was nobody else around when she got there, but it wasn't seven yet so the guy still had time.  
“This is crazy,” she whispered to herself, “I don't even know his name and Izzy just threw me out on a date, with a mundane. What if he isn't a mundane, something will make me aware if he is, I'm sure. By the angel, this better be worth it.”  
“Hey!” The guy approached her, looking almost nervous, he waved and then pushed his glasses and gave a dorky smile, “uh you're here for the date?”  
“Yeah,” Lydia nodded and returned the smile, “my name's Lydia by the way.”  
“Jonas,” the man held out his hand, Lydia shook it politely, noticing how his skin – much like John's – was very soft.  
“That's a nice name,” Lydia let out a small chuckle.  
“Yours too.”  
He lead her to a restaurant which to Lydia seemed like something she might see in Idris, but in the mundane world it must have been some fancy place. He smiled politely at the woman at the front of the restaurant.  
“Hey Krysta, you got my reservation, right?”  
“Of course I did,” the woman, Krysta, winked and pushed her fringe behind her ears, “only the best for the best.”  
“Bless you,” Jonas whispered. Krysta waved a hand and walked through the restaurant, Jonas and Lydia followed her. Lydia stayed by Jonas' side, focusing on what he did. Krysta stopped at an empty table and held her hand out to it.  
“Enjoy your date, I'll be back in a moment with the menus.”  
Lydia quickly took a seat and watched as Jonas slowly sat down opposite her, “I'm guessing you're friends with Krysta?”  
“Yeah, friends since school, when your friend told me to find a fancy place to eat I instantly thought of here, easy reservation since I know Krysta.”  
“Well, make do with what you've got, huh?”  
“Yeah,” Jonas nodded with a laugh, “so uh, what made me so lucky?”  
“What?”  
“Well I mean, I'm on a date with... you and you're like, well you're like an angel.”  
Lydia's eyes went wide for a moment, “you know?”  
“Hm?”  
“You...”  
“Sorry that was really cheesy, I'm usually great with flirting, I swear.”  
Lydia let herself laugh, it was a nervous one, she thought that perhaps for a moment he did know about the shadow world but realised instead it was just a cheesy mundane pick up line.  
“So your friend... She seemed very keen for us to go on this date.”  
“She works hard and she works fast, I have to compliment her on the whole thing really,” Lydia smiled as she spoke about Isabelle, “she's confident and daring, if there's a situation, she'll try to solve it.”  
“She sounds like a good friend, I mean it was strange and quick but... What actually... Made you like me when you saw me?”  
“Well you reminded me of someone I used to love... You look like him.”  
“What happened to him?”  
“He died.”  
“Oh, I'm so sorry.”  
“No need to apologise,” Lydia waved her hand, “it happened and I've learned to live with the agony,” she thought of the rune on her upper arm and then let out a sigh, “I have to learn to be happy again.”  
“Fair enough,” Jonas nodded, “and I guess this is where your happiness begins, with a guy who looks like him.”  
“When I get to know you, I'm sure I'll pick up on differences and the comparison will leave my mind.”  
Jonas was grinning when Krysta returned with two menus, “choose wisely,” she said clearly as she bent down slightly, “remember what happened last time.”  
“Last time?” Lydia looked to Jonas in question.  
“I accidentally ordered seafood,” Jonas began to chuckle, “turns out I'm allergic.”  
“Ouch.”  
“It was my engagement party,” Krysta shook her head, “so I ended up having to take this one home whilst the rest of the party enjoyed their desserts.”  
“I'm still so sorry,” Jonas opened his menu as he spoke, “I swear.”  
“I know, I'll see you two again in a minute whenever you're ready to order.”

***

Over their dinner, Lydia had learned a lot about Jonas, he was a journalist and in his spare time he enjoyed writing fictional stories. He rambled a lot, through nerves of course, but Lydia only found this to be a cute thing. It wasn't like John, him being nervous, so there was one difference – plus John was awful at telling stories so that was another thing. At the end of the date, they left the building, both waving to Krysta as they walked through the door. Lydia was happy, she was glad Izzy had made the move for her. Jonas stopped as they reached the pavement, he turned to her, still smiling.  
“So... Usually this is the part where the guy walks the girl home, would you like me to do that?”  
Lydia stayed silent for a second, she couldn't let him walk her to the institute, to the mundanes it was an old abandoned church, but she didn't want to just reject him, she pressed her lips together and then smiled to him, “how about I walk you back to your place?”  
Jonas seemed surprised but he nodded, “that'd be sweet.”  
They began the walk to Jonas' almost awkwardly, keeping their own hands in their pockets. Jonas walked slightly ahead of Lydia, they continued talking about Jonas' writing as they walked, Lydia was trying to avoid questions about herself, she hadn't really planned what to tell the mundane. She loved to see the way Jonas pulled faces when he was explaining something. At some point, she didn't really know when, she had managed to hold Jonas' hand and they continued to hold hands until they reached the apartment building where Jonas lived.  
“Well,” Jonas turned to Lydia, “this is my place... Well not the whole thing, I mean my apartment is up there...”  
“I understand,” Lydia laughed, “uh... I kind of don't want to go straight away.”  
“Really? Well, I mean you can come inside, if that's okay with you I mean, that's not like... Too fast of a proposal, is it?”  
Lydia began to laugh, “oh don't worry, I've actually been proposed to within a week of knowing someone.”  
“And you said no?”  
“I said yes, the wedding was only the other day actually,” she paused, seeing the confused expression on Jonas' face, “oh, I'll explain it to you when we get inside.”  
“Alright,” Jonas let out a nervous laugh and lead Lydia inside.  
When they walked into Jonas' apartment, Lydia pulled her jacket off and smiled as Jonas politely took it from her, he placed the jackets on a coat rack and walked over to a sofa in the middle of the room.  
“So... That wedding?”  
“Okay, so,” Lydia rushed over and sat by his side, “basically, I met this guy, Alec, it was a... work related thing. He was being made to marry someone, they hadn't actually chosen anyone for him, but then he proposed to me. I knew he didn't love me, and I didn't love him, but he proposed to me to protect his family, I had never seen somebody so passionate about their family. So I agreed to go through with it,” she paused for a second, Jonas' expression seemed to be one of concern, “anyway we got to the wedding the other day, it gets good here. So at the wedding, I was about to dr-” she cleared her throat, remembering she was talking to a mundane, “vows, we were about to say our vows and stuff. Then we heard the doors opening and we all turned, this guy walked in, he was late I think, Izzy – my friend who spoke to you – invited him. So Alec saw him and he turned to me and told me he couldn't breathe, I knew why, I've known that Alec had feelings for Magnus for quite a while. I told him I understood, he deserves happiness, so then Alec did the most dramatic thing ever. He marched down the aisle, grabbed Magnus by the lapels and kissed him. It was great.”  
“You sound... So happy that the guy you were going to marry... kissed another guy at your wedding?”  
“I used to think emotions weren't as important as the work I had to do, but... They are.”  
“Happiness is very important,” Jonas was smiling again, “uh... Sorry I felt kind of, kind of weird hearing that you were getting married last week.”  
“It's okay, I'm single now, so...”  
“Do you want to be? Single? I mean.”  
Lydia looked directly into Jonas' eyes, they seemed to be full of hope, she let the smile stay on her face, “are you asking me if I want to be your girlfriend?”  
“Well...”  
“Yes, I'd like that.”


	3. The Mundane Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Much to Alec's dismay, Lydia goes on a second date with the mundane man.

Lydia returned to the institute with the smile still on her face, she hummed as she walked past several other shadowhunters who were working quite hard – it didn't matter to them what the time was. Izzy appeared, suddenly excited to see Lydia, she tapped Clary's shoulder, making the redhead spin around. The girls bounded over to Lydia like excited puppies when their owner returned.  
“How was it? Did you guys kiss? Are you going on anymore dates?”  
“Where did you go? Was the food good? How sweet is he?”  
“Stop with the questions,” Lydia laughed, “it was good, we had a good time.”  
They stared at her, Izzy raised her eyebrows, “...and?”  
“And he asked me to be his girlfriend.”  
“Really?” Clary's eyes were wide with excitement, “Lydia that's awesome, did you say yes?”  
“Yes I did.”  
“Say yes to what?” Jace marched over to the group of girls as he pulled on his gloves.  
“Lydia's dating a mundie.”  
Jace's eyebrows shot up, “little miss law with a mundane? What is happening to the world?”  
Izzy thumped Jace on the chest, making Clary laugh slightly, “it's sweet.”  
“Lydia,” Alec's low voice was quite loud as he approached the group, “you're okay.”  
“I told you, nothing to worry about, we even went to his apartment.”  
“Woah,” Izzy raised her eyebrows.  
“To talk.”  
“Oh.”  
“And hey, he knew the girl who worked at the restaurant we went to, stop fretting Alec, he's nothing to be scared of.”  
“Alright fine, but mundanes are annoying...”  
“That's my boyfriend you're talking about.”  
“Boyfriend?”  
“He asked her to be his girlfriend,” Clary was still grinning, “and she said yes.”  
Alec shook his head, “you're playing a dangerous game Lydia, being involved with a mundie...”  
“I know,” Lydia nodded, “perhaps it's time I indulged in the danger.”  
“Feisty,” Jace raised an eyebrow, “the girl knows what she wants, let her have it, I mean you did ruin her wedding.”  
“Wow,” Alec mumbled, he shook his head and turned to Lydia, trying to block out Jace, “Lydia, if you get hurt...”  
“I won't, Alec.”  
“Okay, but I care about you and your safety, alright?”  
“Alright.”

***

The next day Lydia was wearing her blue dress as she walked through the institute, she was trying to focus on getting some work done but the thought of Jonas kept popping up. She looked up suddenly as Clary approached her.  
“So, there's been very little demon activity.”  
“Even though Valentine has the mortal cup,” Lydia mumbled, “so... What's he waiting for?”  
“Who knows,” Clary shrugged, “but hey, looks like you don't have to fret about demons, are you going to meet up with Jonas again?”  
Lydia let out a small laugh, “you're very invested in my lovelife, aren't you?”  
“Little bit,” Clary nodded, “but you could go see him again...”  
“Don't mundanes have some kind of rule about seeing each other so soon after the first date?”  
“You're not a mundane, so make your own rules about it,” Clary gave her a wink and then spun around with a sigh, “go out, have fun, be a mundane for another day.”  
“And if Jonas has something else to do?”  
“Just call him and find out.”  
Lydia watched Clary chase after Isabelle just after the Lightwood passed them, she smiled to herself and pulled out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts and called the number that Jonas had added to her phone the previous night.  
“Calling already?” Jonas answered the phone with a teasing voice, “I've never known someone so eager.”  
“Says the man who asked me to be his girlfriend last night.”  
“Well at least I didn't accept a wedding proposal after a day of knowing someone,” he gave a low chuckle, “so... to what do I owe the honor?”  
“Would you like to meet up? If you're free, of course, I don't want to disturb your writing.”  
“Honestly I'm not even doing anything, I'm at Java Jones again, I suppose we could have a coffee date?”  
“That would be lovely,” Lydia was grinning, Jonas couldn't see it of course, but she wished he could, “I'll be there as soon as possible.”  
“Awesome! I'll see you soon then.”

***

Lydia approached the table quickly, Jonas was fidgeting about, rather than reading, this time he was scribbling in a notebook. She sat down opposite him, causing him to look up.  
“And so the angel reappears to the young man and once again... He's stunned by her,” he grinned after giving the short narration to Lydia, “you really do... Look amazing.”  
“Thanks, I barely even tried.”  
“You're kidding, right?” He let out a small laugh, “you look... Wow.”  
Lydia felt herself blush, she glanced over to his notebook, “so what are you working on?”  
“New characters.”  
“Really?”  
“You know, I recently met this really interesting woman, blonde and beautiful, so intriguing... I thought perhaps a character like her would really make my writing... Something else.”  
“Are you flirting with me again?”  
“Yeah, is it bad?”  
“It's sweet, so you want to base a character on me?”  
“Of course, your backstory is... Unique.”  
“Because I almost married a gay guy?”  
“Because unlike most girls in the media, you accept that it happened, and you support him,” Jonas nodded as he spoke, he was beginning to look like one of those ornamental nodding dogs, “you know there's this show in England where a girl refused a man being gay, she told him he wasn't gay because they slept together when he was drunk,” Lydia raised her eyebrows as Jonas explained the show, “it was the most stupid thing I had ever seen, that's British soap operas for you.”  
“You lived in England?”  
“For a short while, I had met this guy over the internet and we had a pretty good relationship going, so I moved there, but after a couple of months it became very clear that he wasn't as interested in me anymore, we broke up and I moved back. Simple really.”  
“You moved to England to be with him?”  
“I... Really liked him.”  
“Obviously, how long had you been speaking to him beforehand?”  
“Years.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah,” Jonas began to let out a laugh, “oh man I was so stupid.”  
“Not stupid, just dedicated.”  
Jonas glanced up, he was smiling brightly, “what type of angel are you?”  
“Nephilim,” Lydia answered with a laugh, Jonas obviously took it as a joke, he had no clue that she was telling him the truth, “you always call me an angel, what's up with that?”  
“I'm a cheesy romantic kind of guy,” Jonas shrugged, “do you not like it?”  
“No, I love it, I find it funny.”  
“Why?”  
“Because...” She trailed off, _because I'm a Shadowhunter._  
“Because?”  
“Oh... There's a private joke between me and my friends,” she laughed slightly, “perhaps one day, I'll tell you.”  
“Hopefully,” Jonas was still smiling, “so Lydia, the most you told me about yourself was that you were wearing a wedding dress barely a week ago. I kind of want to know you better.”  
“Really?”  
“Of course, you are my girlfriend after all.”  
“Right... What do you want to know?”  
“What do you do? For work?”  
“Well,” Lydia thought for a moment, she shrugged, “it's a protection thing... Hard to explain really.”  
“Like police?”  
“Kind of and kind of not.”  
“Is it a secret thing?”  
“Not really, I'll tell you about it one day, I will,” she held her hands together, “but it's... difficult to understand.”  
Jonas nodded, “your lover, the one you said I remind you of, if you don't mind talking about him, what was he like?”  
“Amazing,” Lydia answered immediately, “he was the sweetest guy I ever knew. I mean, okay to begin with, I was supposed to marry this other man, but I was in love with John and so I married him, my parents hated me. In fact I think they still do. But hey, I'm over it, if they didn't like me for being with him, they would hate me for being with you.”  
Jonas went slightly wideeyed, “wh-why?”  
“Oh, just because... I'm dating another guy who isn't who they've chosen, you know?” _Because you're a mundane._  
Jonas just slowly nodded again, he did that a lot, he then let out a sigh and leaned forward, “Lydia... Do you only want to be with me because I remind you of John?”  
“No!” Lydia shook her head quickly, “no, no, no, I mean the John thing is what made me notice you in the first place but like I said, I want to find your differences, I've already found some and I love them.”  
“Really?”  
“You get nervous and ramble, and you have some writing skills, John couldn't tell a story for the life of him. I'm sorry, if it seems like I'm only invested in you because of John.”  
“I guess it's okay,” Jonas glanced down to his notebook, “people do stuff like that sometimes, and it could be worse, you could be like the guy from England and suddenly realise you want nothing to do with me.”  
“I wouldn't do that.”  
“Promise?”  
“Absolutely.”  
“Okay so I have a strange question to ask, well it's not strange, just sudden, and no, I'm not proposing to you like that other guy.”  
“Ask away,” Lydia replied as she let out a small laugh thinking of Alec's proposal.  
“Well, you remember Krysta from last night? My friend at the restaurant,” he waited for Lydia to nod, “well you remember her mentioning her engagement party? Her wedding is next week, how would you feel about coming to it? She let me have a plus on in case I found someone in time and well... I found you so would you like to come to the wedding?”  
“That would be great,” Lydia grinned, “what day?”  
“Next Tuesday, you're free then?”  
“Should be.”


	4. The Mundane Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonas' best friends are getting married and whilst Lydia prepares herself for the wedding, she's informed of a demon attack. She has no idea whether or not she'll make it back in time.

Lydia sat with a smile as Clary stood behind her, she had offered to do Lydia's hair and whilst she was at it, she'd explain a mundane wedding. She excitedly spoke about the ceremony as she worked her fingers through Lydia's blonde hair. Lydia paid full attention, she didn't want to be too confused when she was there. Clary finally finished braiding Lydia's hair after a few more minutes, Lydia stood up and turned to her.  
“So that's all I need to know about mundie weddings?”  
“I should think so,” Clary nodded, “now let's find a dress for you to wear, the dresses at mundie wedding aren't as usually as extravagant as the ones we wear. Wait I have a dress you can wear, and you'll definitely fit into it,” Clary held out her hand and ran out of the room. Lydia leaned against her desk as she waited for Clary to return, someone appeared at her door but it wasn't Clary, it was Alec.  
“Lydia, there's been a demon attack,” his eyes were wide, “are you okay to come on the mission.”  
“I... Yeah,” Lydia let herself nod, “I can still get to the wedding on time.”  
“Of course,” Alec smiled, “I'll go get the others.”  
Lydia quickly walked through to her room, she opened her closet and pulled out her fighting gear, it had actually been a while since she was actually part of a battle. Hopefully it would be a quick job.  
She zipped up her jacket as Clary came rushing back in holding a yellow dress, Clary dropped the dress on the desk, “Alec told you about the attack?”  
“Yeah, let's get going.”

***

Jonas looked at his watch after he adjusted his suit jacket, he was certain he had asked Lydia to be here by now, but he was still waiting. He didn't want to get frustrated about it but he couldn't help but send Lydia several texts begging her to get there within the next twenty minutes. He sat down on his sofa and leaned back, he waited for a reply, and yet after ten minutes there was still nothing. Jonas didn't want to get angry about it all but he wasn't overly positive about it either. He stood up and sent Lydia another text.  
_I have to leave for the Ceremony now, so if you still want to come to the reception you can but I'm kind of not happy about the entire ignoring me thing you're doing :/ I'll hopefully see you at the Reception, I'll text you the address._  
After pressing send, Jonas left for the ceremony. 

***

Jonas felt awful, as he sat down for the ceremony his mind was focused on Lydia. She definitely didn't seem like the kind of girl that would stand him up like she had. He found himself starting to think of his ex, the one he had told her about.  
He had spoken to him online for a few years and when he had finally earned the money, he made the move and left for England. The entire flight, he thought of his lover, how happy he was, they were finally going to be face to face – they had skyped before but that wasn't the same as physical human contact. Jonas could recall how he felt when they first came into contact at the airport, he remembered how he was almost in tears – of joy of course – as they embraced each ther for the first time, and how he didn't want to let go of that embrace for a while. Everything seemed to be moving fine, they were happy to begin with, it was fun, new and simple. Then a month or two into the relationship Jonas noticed how things had began to change. He just didn't feel wanted, he was left alone most of the time, alone in his boyfriend's apartment – instead of being deeply involved with his boyfriend he became deeply involved with the dramatic British soap operas. To begin with, the 'I love you's were always returned with the biggest grins, but after the changes when Jonas said those three words the only response he received was a shrug and a strange facial expression. In that moment, where a grin didn't appear, Jonas swore he felt his heart break. That wasn't the end of things, it was just beginning of the end. There was one day that Jonas was certain he'd never forget, he was at his boyfriend's apartment as usual, sat on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around him, it was cold in England after all. The door opened and his boyfriend walked in, slamming the door shut.  
“You're still here?”  
The words made Jonas speechless, he looked at his boyfriend with a blank face.  
“Have you not got the money to go back?”  
“Wh-what?”  
“I want you to leave.”  
“Why?”  
“Why do you think?”  
The glare he received silenced him, he jumped up from the sofa, ran through to the bedroom and threw his clothes into the bag he had brought with him. He left without another word.  
The words themselves had never been spoken but it was clear, that was the break up, that was the end. The memory came to an end as he heard loud music begin, Krysta had started to walk down the aisle, Jonas twisted around in his seat to see her, and she looked as beautiful as ever. He gave her a bright smile and then settled against the back of the pew. One of Krysta's friends, Ingrid, was behind her as her maid of honour, she had the same blonde hair as Lydia and that sent Jonas' mind back into spiralling thoughts of Lydia. So they had been dating for a week, Jonas thought of her as his own personal angel, she seemed different from everyone else he had dated in the past. Lydia's smile, Lydia's eyes, even her name, it all seemed perfect. Lydia Branwell, the girl who was beginning to destroy Jonas' mind, he was so certain she could be something to him, it hurt him to doubt her for a second, but the ignored texts and calls made him want to dislike her just a little bit, but it was difficult with the perfect woman. Focus on now Jonas, your best friend is getting married. He wanted to focus on Krysta's wedding, he really did, but the thought of Lydia just wouldn't cease. How could one girl hypnotise him so much within a week. He let out a quiet laugh as he pictured her grinning to him, finding simple sayings confusing as though she'd never heard them before. Perhaps she really hadn't heard them before, it was kind of strange that she hadn't but he could shrug it of. He thought of Lydia's beauty, how she always showed up with some form of braid in her hair. He thought of all the tiny details about her, then he jumped back to reality, with a sharp intake of breath as though something shocking had happened, but nothing had. The woman in front of him, Krysta's aunt turned around and glared at him and he just responded with a sweet smile and mouthed the word 'sorry', she smiled and turned back to watch Krysta. Jonas looked up and his eyes went wide, he had no idea how long he'd been thinking of Lydia but Krysta was already exchanging her vows. He watched her, but then suddenly his mind switched to Lydia again, this time he was imagining her getting married, to the guy she was supposed to marry a few weeks ago. Lydia had shown Jonas photos of her friends, so he had no trouble picturing this Alec guy, tall, dark and handsome, very handsome. He could see Lydia in the dress that Krysta was wearing, smiling and looking around at the crowd, then in his head he could see the Magnus guy bursting in late, his focus stayed on Lydia as she would watch Alec leave the alter to be happy with Magnus, he hadn't seen a picture of Magnus but he didn't need to imagine Magnus at this moment, but he focused on what he could see of Lydia. Her smile staying strong as she watched the man she was supposed to marry pursue his own happiness. Her eyes would move away from Alec and Magnus and lock onto Jonas and he felt himself stop breathing for a second.  
Music again, Jonas' eyes went wide, the ceremony was already over, he stood up as the others did. They were all called outside for some photos of the wedding party, he followed, hoping finally he'd stay with the real world. When he reached outside, he was smiling, Krysta rushed over to him as soon as she could.  
“Hey,” she squeaked happily.  
“Hey.”  
“Didn't Lydia show up?”  
“Uh, I think she was busy, buy I'll see if she's coming to the reception.”  
“Alright, now come stand next to me in the wedding party photo?”  
“Shouldn't the maid of honour be there?”  
“Not when you mean so much more to me.”  
Jonas let out a small chuckle as Krysta led him to the group of guests. Jonas glanced past the man who was holding the camera, he was changing the settings whilst the group arranged themselves, but past him he swore he saw Lydia running through the park. He shook his head and turned to Krysta, realising she had said something.  
“Hm?”  
“I asked you if you were okay, obviously you're not.”  
“I...”  
“I really didn't see you being this affected by a girl.”  
“I'm starting to think of it more as infected, she hasn't left my mind all day.”  
“Really?”  
“It's actually beginning to get frustrating,” he whispered, “like I wouldn't be frustrated if I actually saw her, but my thoughts constantly being about her... I can't stop it.”  
“I guess that's love, huh?”  
“It's been a week.”  
“Hey, when I met Winn I kept thinking of him, well my mind went to some dirty places back then-”  
“You were a teenager with a high sex drive, of course it did.”  
“High sex drive? Are you saying I had a lot of sex?”  
“No but you made a lot of dirty comments back then.”  
“True, true,” Krysta nodded, “but do you remember when Winn was a new student at school?”  
“You looked at him and said 'I'm going to marry him so hard'.”  
“And did I or did I not marry him so hard?”  
“You did.”  
“It was love at first sight, and Winn infected my mind for months before we even started dating, you're already dating Lydia, she's going to infect your mind.”  
“And if I start imagining things?”  
“You've always had an active mind.”  
The camera man called for them all to look at the camera, so they did. He took several photos then called for just the bride and her bridesmaids.  
“Oh, you are not tearing my sweet summer child from me,” Krysta held up Jonas' hand, “so bride, bridesmaids, and Jonas.”  
The camera man raised an eyebrow, “alright... If you want.”  
Several photos later they had finished, Jonas finally turned his phone back on, he stood by Krysta and Winn. Several people rushed over and gave them congratulations. He frowned, no new messages showed through to his phone.  
“Nothing?” Krysta raised an eyebrow.  
“No.”  
“Maybe her phones dead,” Winn shrugged, “I mean Krysta said she really seemed to like you on that first date.”  
“She was all about Jonas,” Krysta let out a small giggle, “hearteyes and all.”  
Jonas smiled quickly, he dialled Lydia's number and pressed it onto loudspeaker, Winn and Krysta watched him as it rang several times.  
“Jonas!”  
Jonas almost dropped his phone, he looked to the side, Winn and Krysta turned quickly as well. Lydia rushed over, a smile on her face, two men stood behind her, one with red highlights in his hair and the other Jonas recognised as Alec.  
“So sorry to keep Lydia from you,” the one with the red highlights spoke, “you can blame the entire thing on us.”  
“I...” Jonas focused on Lydia, then nudged Krysta, “she's really there, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“Okay good,” Jonas locked his phone and slid it back into his pocket as he approached Lydia and the two men, “You look... Great.”  
“I'm so sorry I wasn't here,” she replied.  
“It... It's okay, but what kept you?”  
“Trust us,” Alec spoke suddenly, “that was our fault, we'll discuss it some later time I'm sure, but she's here now so...”  
“Have fun with the rest of the day,” the other one spoke, Jonas figured that he must have been Magnus, “again, so sorry.”  
Lydia smiled as the two men waved goodbye and left her side, she grabbed Jonas' hand quickly, “you're not mad... Are you?”  
“At you, no, at them,” he gestured to Magnus and Alec as they walked away, “little bit.”  
“Glad to see you made it,” Krysta smiled over to Lydia, “just in time to see Winnie and I drive off to the reception.”


	5. The Mundane Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia finds herself at the wedding reception of Krysta and Winn, where she discovers something about one of the mundanes.

Lydia had never experienced a mundane party, the reception of the wedding was amazing, white and gold decorations, she could have easily mistook it for a Shadowhunter wedding. Krysta waved Jonas and Lydia over to the bride and groom's table so Jonas lead Lydia over, curious of what his friend had to say.  
“Great news, well kind of, Ingrid can't be here because of a 'family emergency', aka she wants to go make love to her girlfriend, nothing wrong with that, but that means there's a spare seat at our table. Jonas, you were already meant to sit here so... How about we seat Lydia with you?”  
“Quick seating change? Are the caterers aware?”  
“Of course,” Winn gave a small grin, “so Lydia, you want to sit at our table?”  
“I... Yeah,” Lydia recalled what Clary had said about the bride's table, “if you're sure.”  
“Well usually Jonas wouldn't even be sat at our table, but we have exceptions he's basically my makeshift mommy.”  
Jonas gave Krysta a wink, “thank you.”  
“Lydia,” Winn started with a small chuckle, “if you knew half the strange things that we,” he gestured between himself, Krysta and Jonas, “say to each other, I bet you'd be less attracted to Jonas.”  
“Or more,” Krysta nudged Winn, “we're adorable.”  
Lydia watched the couple as they slowly turned to their own discussion, she recognised it, Winn looked at Krysta like Lydia had found herself looking at John in the past, like Alec looked at Magnus, like Jonas looked at her. Jonas looked at her like that even though they had only known each other a week, she glanced to him as he was watching her. He flashed a smile and then held out his arm, pointing her to a chair. She quickly took the seat and then Jonas sat next to her, Krysta was the other side of him. Lydia watched the bride as she happily laughed with Winn, she turned to Jonas and started laughing about something with him as well. Lydia smiled politely as she saw the bride's joy. Krysta had found her happy ending, perhaps, Lydia thought, Jonas could be her own happy ending. It was only the beginning so there were many paths the relationship could take, Lydia just hoped it all stayed in the mundane world. 

***

At some point in the party, Winn had taken to the dance floor with a microphone, he had called for everyone's attention and then said 'now you all need to place yourself back to when Krysta and I weren't dating, because otherwise this song doesn't make much sense' and then he proudly performed some song. It was really sweet, the lyrics were about how his life would be if he had the girl he was wanting, and now he did. What made it more entertaining for Lydia was when Jonas joined Winn on the stage, he sang along with him – Lydia was pretty amazed by the talent she didn't know Jonas had. A short while after that entertaining moment, Lydia found herself talking to Krysta, the woman was still sober – unlike her groom. Krysta pressed her hand against Lydia's cheek when they were close enough, she gave her a reassuring smile and then began to speak.  
“You really are something, Lydia, Jonas is smitten by you.”  
“I... Thanks.”  
“You don't have to be so nervous around us all by the way, like Winn said earlier, there's a lot of strange stuff we say to each other, nothing is really strange to us anymore. You could say that you're some sort of supernatural fairy and we wouldn't bat an eyelid.”  
Lydia raised her eyebrows and cocked her head slightly, “supernatural fairy?”  
“Well perhaps not that extreme,” Krysta began to laugh, “beware of Winn actually, if you say that to him, he'll believe you.”  
“Really?” Lydia made herself sound surprised, but she was more curious, did Winn know something? Perhaps not, some mundanes were just fascinated with the idea of the legends they were told.  
“Jonas once convinced him I was a vampire, luckily I got that out of his head soon enough.”  
“You do look like you could be one,” Lydia shrugged, “like... Vampires are always really beautiful so-”  
Krysta let out a small giggle, “thank you, but that also means that I look dead.”  
“Vampires don't look dead,” Lydia quickly replied, “well not really.”  
One of Krysta's eyebrows shot up, “I suppose... Are you a supernatural geek too?”  
“Well not really, maybe, slightly, I mean my job there's a lot of... Supernatural research involved.”  
“Don't tell Winn, he'll quite the job he has and jump at the chance to get hired.”  
“It's not as easy as it seems,” Lydia's eyes were wide as she spoke, “I mean like there's a lot of... It's hard to explain.”  
“Jonas said you work in protection.”  
“I... Do...”  
“Supernatural research and protection? Is this some sort of strange government thing?”  
“Like I said, hard to explain,” Lydia rushed her words and looked around the room, “where's Jonas?”  
Krysta shrugged, “probably with Winn.”  
“Helpful.”  
“Are you alright?”  
“Kind of,” Lydia continued to glance around the room quickly, “I just need to sit down or maybe even go home.”  
“Home? No way, there's still so much. Lydia if something's wrong...”  
“Nothing's wrong,” Lydia gave her a bright smile, “in fact, I'll be right back,” she turned, grabbed her bag from her chair and ran out of the hall, once she was out of sight she pulled her stele from her bag and quickly glamoured herself. She didn't exactly know why she decided to do it, but she just felt the need to escape. A moment later Krysta appeared outside, she glanced around and frowned, she must have been looking for Lydia. Once Krysta disappeared back inside, Lydia took a deep breath and found herself walking, she stopped quite quickly when she heard talking. She peeked around the corner, Winn and Jonas were sat down, Winn had his back to Lydia – not that it made much difference anyway. She leaned against the door and watched them as they had their conversation.  
“So you really like Lydia, don't you?”  
“Obviously,” Jonas let out a laugh, “she's so... I don't know, it sounds so stupid but she's perfect, when we went on that date last week, I was initially unprepared, I thought perhaps it was a mistake – going on a date with someone that I hadn't actually spoken to. But then we got to the date and I was smitten, she was gorgeous.”  
“She's definitely something, Krysta and I both agree that she's very pretty,” Winn's words did seem to slur together slightly as he spoke, “do you think you guys will ever get married?  
“Woah, now,” Jonas held out a hand and began to laugh, “one week, Winn, one week.”  
“Yeah but didn't Krysta look at me and say 'I'm gonna marry him so bad'?”  
“It was 'so hard', and that's Krysta, it was mostly as a joke.”  
“Yet here we are,” Winn let out a louder laugh, “Mr. and Mrs. Louton. Just think Jonas. Jonas and Lydia Denvers.”  
“Let's not jump too quickly, when Krysta made her comment we were in high school, teenagers, you guys hadn't even spoken. Lydia and I are a serious relationship and I don't want things to sound quick like that.”  
“Alright fine, no marriage, but you want things to get serious with Lydia?”  
“Maybe. Yes.”  
“Cute,” Winn swayed with excitement.  
“Krysta and Lydia are probably wondering where we are,” Jonas stood up and patted Winn's shoulder, “come on buddy.”  
Jonas walked towards Lydia, still not seeing her. Winn stood up and spun around, he waved his hand, “Lydia! How much did you hear?”  
Lydia's eyes went wide, she was still glamoured. Jonas spun around and cocked his head, “what?”  
“Lydia,” Winn pointed directly to her and she was frozen in shock.  
“Wow, you are more intoxicated than I thought,” Jonas walked back to his friend. Lydia saw Winn watch Jonas and she quickly took that moment to rush back around the corner. She took off her glamour and then ran back into the party smiling as she approached Krysta again.  
“Hey, sorry about that.”  
“It's fine,” Krysta chuckled, “you needed fresh air, I get it. But, I went out there and you weren't there?”  
“I had a quick walk, more like a jog.”  
“In those heels?” Krysta pointed down to Lydia's feet, she looked back up to Lydia with awe, “okay we need to be best friends immediately. Running in heels? That's impressive, like really impressive. Is there a technique to it?”  
“Balance and just... don't be afraid to run,” Lydia shrugged.  
“Krysta, I apologise, I didn't think Winn had been drinking that much but he started hallucinating,” Jonas said as he approached the two girls with Winn at his side.  
“I'm not that drunk, I just really thought I saw Lydia,” Winn defended himself.  
Lydia let out a laugh, “I don't think you saw me Winn,” he did, but Lydia couldn't let them know that.  
“You were stood there listening into the conversation Jonas and I were having... Perhaps my mind is playing tricks, but hey Jonas you said you thought you saw Lydia earlier, you know in the park?”  
“That's another story,” Jonas shook his head.  
The mundane trio suddenly began talking, Lydia watched Winn, she thought about it carefully. She wanted to ask him some questions but she didn't want to raise suspicion. When she tuned back into the conversation she was pleased to know they were still talking about Winn's supposed hallucination.  
“Winn,” Lydia smiled at the groom, “have you ever seen ghosts?”  
“Oh my God, yeah!” Winn's eyes were wide as he began to tell a story, “this one time, I stayed at Krysta's family home, we were up quite late,” he paused as Jonas made a suggestive 'oh' noise, “not like that. But yeah we were up late, just talking, and I saw someone and I said 'oh I didn't realise you had a little brother' to Krysta and she glared at me and just said...”  
“I don't have a little brother,” Krysta continued the story, “only an older sister.”  
“It freaked her out,” Winn was grinning again, “I'm pretty sure I've seen other ghosts, but that's my favourite story.”  
“Woah,” Lydia watched him and nodded.  
“Have you seen them?” Winn asked Lydia.  
“Yeah, kind of.”


	6. The Mundane Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia looks further into the discovery she made about Winn, and even does something Alec never thought she'd do.

Lydia had learnt several things at the wedding reception, mundanes were fascinated by the ability to run in heels, Krysta was one of the sweetest mundanes she had met, Jonas really liked her and Winn Louton had the sight. She knew that some mundanes had the sight, but these mundanes were some of the first mundanes she had met so she had never actually known a mundane with the sight. Trust her to be in a relationship with the best friend of a mundane with the sight. It added up, Winn was interested in supernatural creatures, perhaps he had experienced something supernatural before, well she knew that he had seen ghosts. She arrived at the institute quite late once again, Alec was sat down on one of the chairs, spinning slightly as he spoke to Izzy. He looked over and stood up with a smile.  
“Lydia, how was it?” He approached her, “as plain as it looked?”  
“Interesting, actually,” Lydia hummed, “I mean Winn and Jonas sang a song, I didn't know Jonas could sing, I got to sit at the table with the bride and groom because Krysta's maid of honour was a let down and left to go see her girlfriend – I don't know about that story, I don't even know if Krysta liked Ingrid or if she was just putting up with her... Oh and Winn has the sight.”  
“What?” Izzy jumped up and rushed over, “your boyfriend's friend has the sight, oh what a small mundane world it is. How did you find out?”  
“Well, I rushed out of the hall at one point and I glamoured myself, then I ended up listening to Winn and Jonas having a conversation and after that, Winn turned around and saw me. Jonas just dismissed it as Winn being drunk so we're safe. I asked him if he'd ever seen ghosts before and he said yes...”  
“Interesting,” Alec nodded, “has he ever seen anything else?”  
“I don't know, but Krysta said he's nerdy about supernatural creatures, apparently Jonas once convinced him that Krysta was a vampire.”  
“Your mundie friends are...”  
“Odd? So they said,” Lydia let out a small laugh, “they're odd but it's also very endearing, I actually quite enjoy their company.”  
“It's strange, out of everyone I didn't expect you to like the mundanes.”  
“Jonas is very interesting. Alec, if you give the mundanes a chance, you'll end up finding someone you enjoy.”  
“I gave them a chance and ended up with Clary and Simon,” Alec mumbled, as if on cue Clary appeared by his side.  
“Rude.”  
“Well, you guys were exhausting, and now look, we have the daughter of Valentine and a baby vampire.”   
“I technically wasn't a mundane,” Clary replied as she gestured to herself.  
“Eh,” Alec pulled a face, “you had no clue of the Shadow world, so you basically were.”  
“Jonas said that... He wants things to be serious with me,” Lydia pressed her lips together and watched as Alec's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened.  
“Already?”  
“When he and Winn were talking, he said he'd like it to be a serious relationship. Well Winn actually asked about marriage to begin with-”  
Clary choked slightly on the air, “marriage?”  
“But Jonas made him aware that it's only been a week.”  
“It won't happen anyway, not if you want to keep your runes.”  
“I'm aware,” Lydia sighed.  
Alec watched her for a moment, “you... don't think you'd want that option, do you? You just started dating him.”  
“You know when you see someone and you just feel something, something like you'll be with them forever? Don't worry, I already know your answer is yes.”  
“Wh-what?”  
“Alec you look at Magnus like he's already your husband.”  
“Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean we're ever going to get married.”  
“Don't let Magnus hear you say that,” Izzy tutted.  
“But it's true,” Alec mumbled, “relationships don't... Don't instantly mean marriage.”  
“I guess not for Magnus,” Clary bit down on her bottom lip, Lydia watched as Alec glanced down to her in a 'what do you mean' way, she shrugged her shoulders, “well for someone who's been alive so long... Immortal, marriage doesn't really-”  
“It's a hard subject,” Izzy whispered, “I imagine so anyway, has he ever talked to you about his past relationships, Alec?”  
“We've been dating for just over a week.”  
“Yeah but think about what he's been through,” Izzy pouted at her big brother, “and you're going to be the one to heal his pain.”  
“By the angel,” Alec whispered before turning and stalking away. Clary and Izzy began to giggle between themselves.  
“He'll get softer with time,” Clary mumbled then turned her attention back to Lydia, “so, you and Jonas, things sound like they're rolling brilliantly.”  
Lydia gave her a nod, “I think it is, but if you don't mind, an entire night of dancing with Krysta, Winn and Jonas has actually tired me out more than any demon hunt, so I'm going to go to bed, alright?”  
“Alright.”  
Clary watched Lydia walk away then spun around to Izzy, “I know we haven't really seen them together but, I actually think Lydia and Jonas are one of the cutest couples I've ever seen.”  
“Oh, I totally agree with you,” Izzy exclaimed with bright eyes, “Lydia is so much happier, even if it's only been a week, there's a definite change there.”  
“What did Alec mean, it won't happen if she wants to keep her runes?”  
“Oh that? Shadowhunters aren't allowed to marry Mundanes, unless the mundane ascends to become a Shadowhunter or the Shadowhunter is stripped of their runes.”  
“Really? But what about-”  
“Downworlders?” Izzy stroked her own hair as she watched Clary nod, “that's kind of a different story.”

***  
Luckily Lydia had managed to hold together her relationship with Jonas without him getting suspicious about anything when she didn't show up as promised. It had been a few weeks since they had first met and Lydia was actually beginning to be happy to escape from the shadow world into the mundane world, the drama that surrounded the institute since Jace's decision was too much for Lydia to handle all the time. She separated herself for a moment from the shadow world, going for a casual walk through the park Clary and Izzy had taken her to on the first day into the mundane world. She wasn't glamoured, she actually received smiles from some strangers she passed, it was weird to begin with but she managed to smile back at them. She was mostly surprised when she saw Winn sat on a bench scrolling through his phone, he glanced up as Lydia approached him.  
“Lydia!”  
“Hey.”  
“Where are you off to?” Winn raised an eyebrow in question.  
“I was just taking a... random walk.”  
“Of course,” Winn let out a small chuckle.  
“So what's married life like?”  
“It's the same as before really, now we've just got an extra layer to the relationship,” Winn shrugged, “I loved Krysta with all my heart before the marriage and it's still the same, it's weird wearing a ring all the time, I'm not used to it.”  
“Where is Krysta?”  
“Work.”  
“That makes sense,” Lydia nodded, she sat down next to Winn.  
“Have you been with Jonas at all today?”  
“Oh no,” Lydia shook her head, “I just... wanted to take a walk.”  
Winn was grinning, his eyes suddenly went wide as he looked at Lydia's bare arms, “woah, I didn't realise you had tattoos.”  
“Wha-” Lydia glanced down at her arms, then back to Winn, “oh... those.”  
“They're so cool, do they mean something to you?”  
“Yeah,” Lydia mumbled, realising he was talking about her runes.  
“Jonas never said anything...”  
“Jonas hasn't seen them.”  
“Really? So you always wear long sleeves around him?”  
“No. No, he doesn't see them because... God, how do I explain this to you?”  
“Explain what?” Winn cocked his head to the side, looking like a curious puppy.  
“Come with me,” Lydia pulled him up from the bench, “I have to explain something to you that I kind of don't want to do around other mundanes.”  
“Mundanes? What?”  
“Just come with me.”

***

Winn followed Lydia, no matter how confused he was. She led him through alleys that were shaded from the sunlight and they only came to stop outside of what seemed to be an old church. Winn looked at her, astounded and confused.  
“Lydia, what is this about?”  
“I shouldn't be doing this but I have to anyway,” she walked towards the door and waved Winn over.   
When they entered Winn raised an eyebrow, “an abandoned church? Please don't tell me you live here.”  
“I do, but you're not seeing true,” she turned to him, “Winn, things aren't as... Mundane as people think they are, you're a supernatural nerd, right?”  
“Uh, I guess.”  
“Werewolves, Vampires, Seelies, Warlocks, they exist and unfortunately so do demons,” Lydia was whispering, Winn seemed amazed, “and I'm a Shadowhunter, we hunt demons, protect the mundanes.”  
“Mundanes, why do you keep saying that?”  
“It's what we call you,” the low voice of Alec made Winn and Lydia turn, “Lydia, I really didn't expect you of all people to be bringing a mundane here.”  
“Isn't this the guy you were meant to marry,” Winn mumbled the question but he went unanswered as Lydia responded to Alec.  
“He saw my runes, I really couldn't keep it from him forever.”  
Alec shook his head, “Lydia...”  
“You live with your gay ex fiance?” Winn's second question still went unanswered.  
“He has the sight, he has suspicions about the supernatural world, I can't keep it from him forever,” Lydia looked to Winn, “Winn I want you to look for the truth, see the true world.”  
For a moment Winn was curious as to what she actually meant, but then his face changed, Lydia knew then he could see into the Institute, “woah.”  
Alec rolled his eyes, “why are mundanes always so fascinated by this place?”  
“Because it literally just turned from an abandoned church into a freaking tech lab,” Winn was still in awe, he let out a scoff and rushed further into the institute, Lydia followed him quickly.  
“Winn, this seems amazing to you I know but I just needed you to see it to believe it all, so stay calm okay, please don't get too excited.”  
Winn nodded, but the smile stayed on his face, “this is awesome though,” he whispered, “so you're Shadowhunters? What does that entail.”  
“Demon hunting,” Alec answered, crossing his arms, his stare stayed on Lydia, “and the last time a mundane came into the institute, he was kidnapped by vampires and changed into one.”  
“Awesome.”  
“Not awesome,” Alec rolled his eyes, “he's immortal and annoying.”  
Winn's eyebrows shot up as he watched Alec, “you don't seem like a nice guy, what would make you want to marry him?” Winn looked at Lydia and the blonde let out a small laugh.  
“His passion for his family, I knew he had feelings for Magnus basically since I met him.”  
“What?” Alec's eyebrows furrowed, “well that's not true because I didn't even know until... Like... just before our wedding.”  
“You didn't? Then what did you find so magical about Magnus beforehand?”  
“I don't know, maybe uh, his magic?” Alec became slightly defensive and shifted uncomfortably, “look whatever Magnus is, he's not a mundane like... this guy.”  
“Winn,” Winn held out his hand with a smile, Alec simply ignored the proposed handshake.  
“Who's this?” Izzy approached the trio with a raised eyebrow, “because it's not Jonas.”  
“Hi, I'm Winn,” Winn politely turned to her with a smile.  
“What's going on over here?” Clary appeared suddenly, doing her best to give a smile, “who are you?” She pointed to Winn.  
Winn let out an awkward almost frustrated laugh, “I'm Winn, that's the third time I've said my name in the last ten seconds.”  
“What's he doing here?” Izzy and Clary asked at the same time, after asking their question they turned to each other and shared a smile.  
“Remember I said about Winn having the sight?”  
“Oh yeah!” Clary exclaimed.  
“Lydia, you know, Lydia 'the law is hard but it is the law' Branwell, decided to bring a mundane into the institute because nothing could go wrong. Especially not with Valentine and his son on the loose,” Alec shook his head, Lydia glanced at him, Alec couldn't even bring himself to say Jace's name.   
“Well perhaps it's better he knows, before anything happens.”  
“Sorry,” Winn held up his hand, “who's Valentine?”  
Clary answered 'my dad' at the same time Izzy answered 'this evil guy' and Alec mumbled 'none of your business', after they all spoke Alec glared over to Clary.  
“So... Your dad, and your brother are evil?” Winn cocked his head as he asked.  
“Jace isn't evil.”  
“Jace?”  
'My brother', 'our brother', 'Valentine's son'. They all responded at the same time once again, this time Clary and Alec turned to Izzy who instantly became defensive, “well he is still our brother, Alec.”  
“I'm so confused.”  
“Great, how about you forget all about this and leave,” Alec waved a hand in front of Winn's face and then pointed to the door, “there's the exit, have a nice l-”  
“Alec,” Lydia interrupted him with a tone of warning.  
“What?”   
“Remember that time... When we were meant to get married...”  
“Come on Lydia don't pull this card on me.”  
“And you made out with Magnus at our wedding?”  
“This is so unfair.”  
“Let me have my mundane friends, you've got your Warlock.”  
“Magnus is different to mundanes,” Alec sighed, “but fine, as long as this one promises not to get wrapped up by some Seelie trap.”  
“I swear not to get wrapped up in a Seelie trap.”  
“That's what they all say,” Alec scoffed slightly, “look just because you're some kind of supernatural nerd, doesn't mean you actually know about anything to do with vampires and werewolves.”  
“Alec, stop that,” Clary looked up at him then back to Winn, “sorry about him, he's constantly miserable, like you're really lucky if you get one smile out of him, the least miserable I ever saw him was when he finally kissed Magnus. He's been miserable for the last few weeks since Camille kissed Magnus. ”  
“Clary kissed her brother, now you know all you need to know about us,” Alec gave a fake smile and walked away. Clary's jaw had dropped.  
“Okay so that was totally unfair,” Izzy held out a finger, “Clary and Jace actually had no clue they were brother and sister until after they were together.”  
“It was awkward and it hurt but...” Clary was watching Izzy as she spoke, “I think I can find someone else.”  
“You know that reminds me of this story, this guy and girl got together and they were getting married and I think it was at their wedding, they were told they were twins.”  
“Ouch,” Izzy pulled a face, “so the mundane world is just as complicated, huh?”  
“Well, there's a lot of crap in the mundane world, racism and homophobia...”  
“We have that too,” Clary nodded, “I mean Alec's mom was not please when she found out he was dating a Warlock.”  
“It was mostly because it's Magnus Bane,” Izzy gave a shrug, “apparently mom's not to happy with his reputation in the shadow world.”  
“But some shadowhunters speak down about the downworlders,” Clary frowned, “that's like shadow world racism.”  
“Okay sorry but this is all so strange,” Winn almost whimpered.  
“Of course it is,” Clary hummed, “but you'll get used to it soon.”  
“Will I?”  
“Yeah,” Clary was smiling brightly, “I mean when you start seeing everything truly... You'll slo9wly get used to it.”  
“Sounds like fun.”  
“Hey you have my number,” Lydia remembered quickly, “if you ever see anything strange and... Not mundane-”  
“Not human,” Winn whispered to remind himself.  
“Just give me a call, and whatever you do, don't tell Krysta or Jonas about the shadow world.”  
“You'll have to tell Jonas eventually,” Winn huffed, “you won't be able to keep it secret for too long.”  
“I've lasted so far.”  
“As much as I hate to say it,” Izzy was frowning as she began to talk, “he's got a point, Jonas might get suspicious,” Winn gave a swift nod as Izzy spoke, “and you already introduced this dork to the shadow world,” Winn's head turned when Izzy mentioned him, “I suppose if Jonas is how you describe him, then he'll be careful... At some point, you'll have to tell him.”  
Lydia raised an eyebrow, “I really like Jonas... But I don't know, it'll be dangerous.”  
“Danger is part of the fun,” Izzy winked and then grabbed Clary's hand, “come on Clary, let's leave Lydia to figure it out for herself.”   
Clary gave Winn another smile before leave with Izzy. Winn glanced to Lydia once they had left, “they have a point.”  
Lydia rolled her eyes, “come on.”  
“Where are going now?”  
“Back to the mundane world, I want to think about this in more detail.”


	7. The Mundane Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winn ends up telling Lydia about an important moment in his friendship with Krysta and Jonas.

Winn took Lydia back to his apartment, he and Krysta didn't actually live together yet technically, but she did stay at his the majority of the time – Lydia had learnt that from Jonas. Winn's apartment was clean, cleaner than Lydia had honestly expected. She looked at one photo on a shelf, it was Krysta, Winn and Jonas when they were a few years younger, she smiled and found herself running her fingers over Jonas' face in the photo, he looked just as sweet then as he does now.  
“Senior year,” Winn informed her as he watched her from the other side of the room, “Jonas' birthday sleepover...”

***

_“I'm one of the cools kids,” Jonas shrugged, “sleepover for my birthday,” he let out a laugh as he flopped down onto his bed, “sleepover where I'm the third wheel, for my birthday.”_  
_“If it makes you comfortable we won't kiss,” Krysta shrugged as she looked between Winn and Jonas._  
_“Hey, my comfort and your love are two separate things, don't let me get in the way of things,” Jonas fiddled with his pillow, “so what do we do?”_  
_“Have you never had a sleepover before?” Winn raised an eyebrow._  
_“Not really, I mean I don't really count Krysta staying here as a sleepover, she's basically my sister now. Although there was this one time where we spent the night as though it were a sleepover, we ended up watching porn together.”_  
_“It was an experience,” Krysta whispered._  
_“An experience? She peed on him!” Jonas' eyes were wide, he shook the image from his head, “we're never doing that again.”_  
_“Why don't we watch some movies?” Winn asked excitedly, he ran over to the shelf of movies, “Sky High? What a throwback.”_  
_“That movie was my jam,” Jonas scoffed loudly._  
_“Mine too, I used to wish I could be Warren Peace.”_  
_“I always wanted to be Layla to be honest,” Jonas laughed softly, “she was beautiful.”_  
_“Kids no,” Krysta held out her hands and let out an offended grunt, “Magneta was where it's at.”_  
_“Magenta turned into a guinea pig,” Winn pulled a face._  
_“Yeah but she was a badass guinea pig.”_  
_“Oh man Teen Wolf? This film is great,” Winn pulled the film from the shelf, “can we watch it?”_  
_“I guess.”_

***

“That sounds like a fun night,” Lydia nodded slowly after Winn told her the story, “well, if watching werewolf movies is a fun night.”  
“What's your idea of a fun night?”  
“Demon hunts are usually fun.”  
Winn raised an eyebrow, as he did so often, “really?”  
“Yeah, well, unless someone gets hurt... But they can be fun.”  
“It kind of sounds fun I guess.”  
“What was it like... In high school?”  
“You mean with Krysta and Jonas?”  
“Yeah, other than Jonas' sleepover.”

***

_Jonas and Krysta would wait by Winn's locker at the beginning of the day, Winn would run over to them and greet them. Jonas always had a bright smile and so did Krysta._  
_“Hey,” Winn grinned as he reached Jonas and Krysta, “any news to enlighten me with today?”_  
_“Absolutely nought,” Krysta shook her head quickly._  
_“Penelope Gomez and Genevieve Simmons started dating last night, I call them Penevieve,” Jonas informed him proudly, “how great is it that they feel confident with their relationship though? I mean I still haven't told either of yo-” Jonas stopped and cleared his throat, “yeah so how about that Penevieve.”_  
_“Woah, hold up, what were you about to say?” Krysta placed a hand on Jonas' shoulder, “whatever it is, you can tell us.”_  
_“Yeah I can,” Jonas let out a nervous laugh, he looked up as a bell rang, “well would you look at that, we better get going, okay, bye,” he rushed away, leaving Krysta and Winn to look at each other , confused and concerned._

***

“Jonas always let us know if something was wrong, so we thought it was off that he kept this from us, it sounded like he was scared.”  
“What was it?”  
Winn just gave Lydia a small smile.

***

_Krysta bumped into Winn in the corridor, “Jonas said he'll tell us his news at the end of the day, so we're going to my house, you good with that?”_  
_“Of course, do we get treats?”_  
_“Maybe.”_  
_“Awesome.”_  
_Winn spent the rest of the day wondering eagerly what Jonas had to tell them, he tried to piece the clues together but he didn't want to make any presumptions. He met Krysta by her locker, then Jonas appeared with a small smile on his face. Winn tried asking for the news but Jonas waved a hand, he didn't want to tell them until they were at Krysta's._  
_When they reached Krysta's, Winn once again turned to Jonas impatiently and the shorter boy laughed and walked past him to sit down on Krysta's sofa._  
_“Oh come on!” Winn almost yelled, “you have to tell us.”_  
_“In time, dear Winnifer.”_  
_“Winnifer?”_  
_Jonas nodded and let out a hum, “Krysta,” he sniffed the air, “did your mom make cookies?”_  
_Krysta shrugged, “let's find out,” she called out for her mom. Jonas and Winn looked up as a dark haired woman came rushing down the steps, Jonas had met her before on multiple occasion but Winn realized he hadn't actually met her yet, he had stayed at Krysta's one before – when he saw the ghost boy – but Krysta's mother wasn't there at the time._  
_“Ms. Belmonte.”_  
_“Call her Carmen,” Jonas advised with a smile, “hey Carmen.”_  
_“Jonas,” the woman greeted Jonas with a bright smile and ran over to give him a hug, “how's my favourite boy doing?”_  
_“So well.”_  
_“Mamá, esto es Winn. Mi novio,” Krysta spoke quickly in fluent Spanish, she gestured to Winn who glanced at her surprised._  
_“Wait, I did not know you spoke Spanish.”_  
_“She speaks Spanish a lot of the time,” Jonas laughed and then mimicked Krysta, “Oh Dios mío!”_  
_“I thought she just spoke Spanish sometimes for the sake of it.”_  
_"No, my mom's Spanish.”_  
_“Car bakes the best cookies,” Jonas grinned at the woman. Winn noted that Carmen was a nickname._

***

“Wait, Krysta's mother wasn't at the wedding...”  
“Yeah this was before her mom basically 'disowned' her.”  
“Why did she disown her?”  
“For staying friends with Jonas after his announcenment.”  
Lydia cocked her head to the side and Winn then continued.

***

_“Jonas is going to tell us some news,” Krysta raised her eyebrows at her mother as she took a cookie from the plate, “he's waiting for the right time.”_  
_“I sense that the right time is near,” Jonas teased, “like I am so almost ready.”_  
_“Ooh news,” Carmen smiled, “do I get to know as well?”_  
_“If you want,” Jonas shrugged, “I suppose I can trust you as much as these two.”_  
_Carmen gave Jonas a wink and then turned to Winn, “so, Winn, Krysta hasn't actually told me about you.”_  
_“Really?”_  
_“It never came up,” Krysta hummed awkwardly as she bit into her cookie._  
_Just under an hour of awkward boyfriend/mother conversation Jonas stood up, “I think I can say it now,” the trio turned to Jonas with smiles, “okay so, I know this might seem pathetic but I wanted to tell you two,” he paused, “and Carmen I guess, I wanted to say that I feel comfortable around you guys and I just know you'll accept me but it's still difficult to actually say it,” he let out a sigh, “okay so, I... I like both... guys and girls, I'm bi.”_  
_Winn and Krysta were still both smiling, Jonas would have continued to say something else but the smile from Carmen turned into a harsh frown, she shook her head, looking ashamed. Winn turned to Carmen and raised an eyebrow._  
_“Do you have a problem with that, Carmen?”_  
_“Well, if you really want to know,” she glanced up but avoided looking in Jonas' eyes, “yes. 'Bisexual' is just a term for confused, don't worry you'll see the light , just find a nice girl.”_  
_“What? Mom!” Krysta stood up from her chair, “you can't jut say that! If Jonas is bi, then he's bi.”_  
_“Krysta...”_  
_“No sea una perra, no hablan de Jonas por el estilo!”_

***

“Did you find out what Krysta and her mother were saying to each other?”  
“Yeah, Krysta and I spoke about it for ages afterwards, Krysta had said something like 'Stop being a bitch, don't treat Jonas like that'. Her mother then basically told her, if she supported Jonas in this she should leave.”  
“Then what happened?”

***

_Krysta threw the plate of cookies onto the floor and grabbed Jonas' hand, “boys come help me pack my stuff.”_  
_“Your stuff?” Winn whispered as he followed Krysta._  
_“If you think I'm staying here after the stuff she just said...”_  
_“I didn't understand what she said, I don't speak Spanish.”_  
_“It was pretty biphobic,” Jonas mumbled, “now I'm upset I know some Spanish.”_

***

“Krysta packed up her stuff and moved in with Jonas' family, he told them about his sexuality that night and they were perfectly fine with him,” Winn smiled, “Krysta stayed there up until her and Jonas moved out. They originally moved into the same apartment, but then Krysta moved closer to her workplace – not that much of a change. Then Jonas had that entire 'I'm fleeing to England to be with my love' thing that didn't work out, and I guess... Now we're here.”  
“Krysta's mom...”  
“She seemed nice, and she was, up until the biphobia bit.”  
“I didn't know people could be so...”  
“Cruel?”  
“Yeah, well sometimes people are capable of it, but I didn't think mundanes...”  
“There's evil mundanes in the world, they're just not people you meet everyday.”  
Lydia looked up as she heard a knock at the door, Winn was grinning as he stood up, Lydia quickly stood up, “wait Winn, why did you tell me that exact story?”  
“Because,” Winn approached the door, but he stopped to finish his sentence before opening the door, “when Jonas came out, when he told us the truth, not everyone liked it, but he stayed in contact with the people who did.”  
Lydia thought for a moment, then Winn pulled the door open.  
“Hello Winnifer,” Jonas posed against the doorframe, then quickly acted casual when he saw Lydia, “and Lydia, hey... Lydia, what are you doing here?”  
“We were talking about stuff,” Winn shrugged.  
“Stuff?”  
“He was telling me about when you came out,” Lydia smiled politely over to her boyfriend, “I have to say, that's definitely something.”  
“Nothing on your ex fiance's coming out story,” Jonas let out a chuckle, he rushed past Winn and sat down on the sofa next to Lydia, he placed an arm around her shoulder, “I didn't expect to see you here.”  
“I didn't expect to see you either.”  
“Winn invited me.”  
“Really?” Lydia raised an eyebrow at Winn.  
Winn gave her a wink, “yeah.”  
“That entire story...” Lydia thought, “you're trying to get me to... The thing...”  
“Yeah,” Winn nodded, “the thing,” he grabbed his coats, “now if you kids don't mind, I'm hungry so I'm going to go grab a pizza for us, I could order but I want to take a walk so you kids stay here... And talk about the thing.”  
He left, Jonas looked to Lydia in question, “so... The thing?”  
“It's just something I'll have to talk to you about at a later point in time.”  
“Lydia he's not getting pizza,” Jonas leaned back, “he's leaving as an excuse to put us together and talk about the thing, whatever the thing is.”  
“The thing... The thing is...”  
“You're not breaking up with me, are you?”  
The question made Lydia pause, saying yes to that would be far more easier than saying 'no, I kill demons for a living'. She looked around the room quickly and she heard Jonas let out a shaky 'oh my God'.  
“No,” Lydia quickly grabbed Jonas' hand, she could see in his eyes that he was beginning to panic, “no I'm not leaving you.”  
“Then what do we need to talk about?”  
“I love you,” she whispered.  
Jonas began to smile again, “is that the thing?”  
“Kind of, please let me tell you the rest another time?”  
“Yes,” Jonas let out a small laugh, “I love you too,” he quickly leaned in and kissed Lydia gently, Lydia smiled into the kiss when she felt Jonas' hand move down to her waist.


	8. The Mundane Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winn learns more about the shadow world from Clary and Izzy whilst Lydia learns some more about her boyfriend (there's a sexual joke in there somewhere).

Clary walked over to Izzy, a smile on her face, “Izzy...”  
“Yes, my darling,” Izzy responded with a bright smile over her face, “what is it?”  
“Did you just call me... Never mind, I was thinking, is there any real danger? With Lydia and Jonas?”  
“Not really.”  
“Why is Alec so moody about it all then?”  
“I think he's big brother-ing her,” Izzy shrugged, “you know like being protective and stuff?”  
“Oh yeah,” Clary nodded, “yeah I get it.”  
“And Alec is... Alec, sometimes he's sweet and happy, other times bitter and miserable,” Izzy rolled her eyes, “but that's what makes him him.”  
Clary hummed, “and mundanes with the sight, can they help us in anyway?”  
Izzy shook her head, “not really, they can see the true world but... There's not much else to it.”  
Their heads turned as they heard a loud knocking sound, Izzy raised her eyebrows and ran to the opening of the Institute, she opened the entrance, Winn was stood there with a small smile on his face.  
“Hi.”  
“What are you doing back here? Where's Lydia?”  
“I left her to talk to Jonas, I was wondering if you guys could talk to me more... About the Shadow World.”  
“So you came back here alone,” Izzy crossed her arms.  
“How do we know you're actually Winn?” Clary placed her hands on her hips as she stood by Izzy.  
“I'm married to Krysta,” he held up his hand with the ring on but the girls didn't bat an eyelid, “Alec doesn't like me.”  
“Alec doesn't like anyone to begin with.”  
“Okay well... I have the sight?” Again, the girls stayed silent, “come on guys!”  
“Winn we can't just let you in unless we know it's really you.”  
“Okay, okay, I told you guys the story about the twins who were separated at birth and got married, but then they found they were twins!”  
Clary and Izzy turned to each other and gave a quick nod, “it's him,” Izzy mumbled, “alright come in.”  
Winn rushed in with the same grin on his face, “this place is still so cool.”  
“So you want to know more of the shadow world?” Clary hummed, “Izzy we better take him somewhere else so Alec doesn't get stroppy.”  
Izzy nodded and they began to walk through the institute to take Winn to Izzy's room, “you know I heard that,” Alec's low voice made Clary jump, “and once again you're bringing the mundane into the institute, where's Lydia?”  
“At my place with Jonas,” Winn answered politely, “and how come you always appear out of nowhere?”  
Alec glared at Winn and then looked to Izzy, “get him out of here.”  
“We're telling him about the shadow world,” Clary defended quickly, “it's like an education on our lives.”  
“Well guess what, class is over, school's finished, send the student home,” Alec shook his head, “please.”  
“He needs to know more.”  
“And he needs to not be in here,” Alec hissed, “look you don't see me bringing Magnus over every day, do you? So why should you bring this mundane in here?”  
“You know what you're right,” Clary sighed falsely and then turned to Izzy and Winn, “we'll go to Magnus' apartment.”  
“No you won't.”  
“He'll help us explain it all to Winn.”  
“Clary...”  
“Why don't you come with us Alec?”  
Alec hesitated, then let out a frustrated grunt, “alright fine.”

***

“Do you think Winn will be mad?” Lydia pressed her lips together as she straightened out her clothes.  
“Winn mad at me? No way, he'll be surprised, but not mad, actually he'll probably be proud of us.”  
“Proud of us for having sex on his sofa,” Lydia let out a laugh, “I'm sure.”  
“It's Winn,” Jonas placed his hand on Lydia's cheek, “besides, Winn and Krysta had sex on my bed multiple times.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, I wasn't there at the time of course, but it happened.”  
Lydia shuffled closer to Jonas, “so...”  
“Yes?”  
“Do you think Winn will be back soon? Because if so, we should probably at least try to clean up a little bit.”  
“Yeah, I mean we didn't make that much of a mess,” Jonas nodded, he kissed Lydia's cheek and chuckle, “but let's do that.”

***

“When Alexander called me asking to come over,” Magnus began speaking as he led his four guests through to his living room, “I didn't expect anyone except him, so...” Magnus clicked his fingers, something in the room changed but the group didn't notice what it was, “I probably should have guessed form his tone of voice.”  
“Tone of Voice,” Alec furrowed his brow, “what's that supposed to mean?”  
“Nothing Alexander,” Magnus grinned, “anyway, to what do I owe the honour?”  
“We just wanted a place to talk to Winn about the shadow world, Alec didn't want him in the Institute again-”  
“Fair enough, I heard that they may be sending down more representatives from the Clave soon, you ought to be careful.”  
“The Clave, is that like...”  
“We'll get into that,” Izzy stopped Winn quickly, “you are okay with us being here, aren't you Magnus?”  
“I suppose so,” Magnus let out a dramatic sigh, “Alexander, how about you and I talk about other topics in the bedroom.”  
Izzy raised her eyebrows but Alec threw a glare at her before following Magnus out of the room.   
“So that's Magnus,” Winn hummed, “he's very... Not what I expected.”  
“He's the High Warlock of Brooklyn, what did you expect?”  
“I don't know,” Winn gave a shrug, “but he seems pretty cool.”  
The girls began to explain the shadow world to Winn and he listened patiently throughout the entire talk. Izzy could see the excitement over Winn's face as they spoke. After a while it seemed as though Winn understood the majority of what he had to know.  
“And this Valentine guy showed up, demands you give him the mortal cup, he gets it, but then he comes back and takes his son too?”  
“Basically.”  
“He sounds like a dick, I never want to meet him,” Winn scoffed.  
“And hopefully you won't,” Izzy smiled, “just keep things quiet and I'm sure you'll be fine.”

***

Valentine folded his hands behind his back and glanced over to Jace, he let out a low hum, “Jonathan, you know Clarissa more than anyone else here,” he spoke in a low voice, he could see Jace's face change as he spoke, “so tell me, what would make her and her mother join us?”  
“I don't...” Jace began, but then he paused and let out a sigh, “Clary always puts her friends before herself.”  
Valentine began to grin, “is there anyone that we could use? Someone who can't fight back, a mundane, perhaps?”  
Jace tried to hide his emotions as he glanced to the ground, he looked back up slowly, “I know some. They're not Clary's friends but she'll still help.”  
“Who's friends are they then?”  
“Lydia Branwell's.”


	9. The Mundane Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine and Jace try out their plan and the lies that were told are revealed.

“I can't believe you and Lydia had sex on Winn's sofa,” Krysta laughed loudly, “bless you. Where did you say Lydia went?”  
“She went home, she said she had to talk to Izzy about something,” Jonas was smiling as he spoke, “do girls talk to each other about sex?”  
“I can't tell you from personal experience, Ingrid is one of the few girls I speak to and she never talks about her sex life, even though it's active enough for her not to show up to my wedding reception. I mean your my best friend and... You're a guy for a start... But this is the first time you've really spoken to me about sex, I mean I never heard about anyhting from the England guy.”  
“That's because that never felt as exciting as it did with Lydia.”  
“Aw, that's strangely cute,” Krysta held her coffee mug with both hands as she looked at Jonas across the table, they were still in Winn's apartment. Jonas had been sat alone watching the television when Krysta arrived, he quickly confessed to having sex with Lydia and the thought only entertained Krysta.  
They were deep into a discussion about Jonas and Lydia's relationship when Winn came through the door.  
“Hey,” he smiled as he approached the table, “what's up? Where's Lydia?”  
Krysta was grinning, “she's gone home to talk to Izzy about having sex with Jonas on your sofa.”  
Winn's eyes went wide, “you guys had sex?”  
Jonas slowly nodded.  
“That's great, your first time together?”  
Jonas nodded again.  
“And on my sofa, man I feel blessed,” he laughed and sat down by Krysta.  
“So where've you been?” Jonas stretched across the table as he watched Winn.  
“Talking to people about things, as you do. Speaking of things, did she tell you said thing?”  
“She told me she loved me... Then we had sex on your sofa, she said we can talk about the thing later.”  
Winn shook his head with a sigh, “oh well.”  
“I'm highly disappointed you didn't even try to stick to that pizza lie,” Jonas chuckled.  
“Eh, you knew I was lying anyway.”  
“That's true.”  
“Oh hey, so I know you guys think my Supernatural talking is just a load of bullcrap but I'm pretty sure I met a Warlock earlier.”  
“Oh my God,” Krysta scoffed, “you expect us to believe this? Again?”  
“I'm serious.”  
“Uh-huh,” Jonas nodded sarcastically, “Winn I wouldn't believe a single word you said about the supernatural unless we were actually attacked by said supernatural creatures.”  
The trio jumped as they heard a knock at the door, “I feel like you're going to regret that,” Winn whispered, he walk toward the door opening slightly. On the other side there was a blond boy, his hair was swept back.  
“Hey, are you Winn Louton?”  
Winn slowly nodded whilst he pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it behind the door, hiding it from the blond, he dialled Clary's phone number – having asked her for it earlier in case he had anymore supernatural questions. He then swiftly placed the phone on the table next to the door.  
“Sorry, who are you?” Krysta approached the door curiously.  
“My name's Jace, I just wanted to ask you a few questions...” He spoke as though he were some innocent saleman but Winn knew the truth.  
Jace. Winn carefully watched the blond, then he quickly moved to close the door but Jace forced it open. Jonas stayed back by the table, Krysta rushed over to him suddenly terrified.  
“Yeah, you're going to regret what you said,” Winn called over to Jonas before Jace picked up an ornament and threw his arm around to hit Winn. Winn quickly ducked, “we're going to need some help,” he shouted out, knowing Clary had answered the call. He ducked several more times from Jace, “come on Jacey, aren't you one of the better Shadowhunters?”  
Jace pulled out a blade that was glowing with a bright white light.  
“What the...?” Jonas whispered as he and Krysta backed up to a wall.  
“This is part of the thing Lydia was meant to tell you!” Winn yelled to Jonas as he threw several things at Jace, “hey listen kid, I know who you are, I know who your friends are, well former friends I guess, I don't know why you're attacking us.”  
Jace gave him a smile and finally, after swinging his arms about and missing, he struck Winn in the head with the hilt of his blade. Winn dropped the ground, unconscious.  
“It would be easier if you just come with me,” Jace hissed to Krysta and Jonas. Jonas shook his head quickly, Jace looked down at Winn and then back to Jonas and Krysta, “unless you want to end up like him.”

***

Clary and Izzy rushed through the office to find Lydia, she called out her name and finally Lydia appeared with a small smile.  
“I've been looking for you two,” Lydia let out a laugh, “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”  
“Lydia,” Izzy held out a hand to keep her quiet for a moment, “it's the mundanes, Winn, Jonas and Krysta.”  
“What about them?”  
“Valentine got to them,” Clary answered quite quietly, “Winn called me but he wasn't actually calling me, I think he was making me aware that they were being attacked by Jace.”  
“Jace?”  
“I know, I had the same response...”  
“He... We need to help them.”  
“Yeah but we don't know where they are.”  
Clary's phone vibrated in her hand, she stared down at the screen, it was Jace's number, “just on time,” she mumbled, “Jace said if we want the Mundanes to live, my mom and I have to join him and Valentine.”  
Lydia shook her head, “you can't do that.”  
“But Lydia, your friends...”  
“We're Shadowhunters, emotions cloud judgement, remember?”  
“Lydia.”  
“You're approaching this as them being friends, we should approach it as them being humans, victims,” she crossed her arms, “we don't need to make a sacrifice, we fight for them,” she spun around and walked through the office, she found a black jacket and pulled it on, “so get ready to put up a fight girls, get Alec and Magnus too, perhaps that vampire boy, anyone who can help.”  
“Right,” Clary nodded, she and Izzy rushed out of the office. 

***

Jonas opened his eyes, he felt a pain in his head from where Jace had struck him after he and Krysta refused to go with him. Krysta had tried to hit him with a chair but he just sliced it with the glowing blade. Jonas shifted around uncomfortably, his hands were behind his back, Krysta and Winn were either side of him, both lying still with their eyes closed.  
“Ah, the first one's awake,” a low voice made Jonas alert, he managed to push himself up slightly into a sitting positiong.  
“I don't know who you are,” Jonas whispered, “but what the hell do you have against me and my friends.”  
“Nothing against you dear boy, nothing agaionst your friends either.”  
“Then let us go!”  
“Jonas,” Winn mumbled as he opened his eyes, “he's not... Remember the thing?”  
“Yeah, the thing, but I don't care about the thing, this guy had literally kidnapped us!”  
“This is part of the thing,” Winn whispered, “all the legends... Werewolves, fairies, vampir-”  
“This nonsense again Winn? Now is really not the time,” Jonas let out the harsh hiss.  
“I'm telling you the truth.”  
“Just shut up!” Jonas moved his arms around, trying to loosen whatever was keeping his wrists together.  
“Looks like we have a fighter, don't we Jonathan?” The man raised his eyebrows and looked at the blond boy to his right, the boy from the apartment, “bring the loud one over here.”  
Jonathan nodded and walked over to Jonas, Jonas tried to fight as he was picked up by the blond.  
“Just let me go!” He yelled, trying to kick his legs out at the blond.  
“Keep crying little one, and you won't survive even if they do join us.”

***

“Why would he choose here?” Izzy mumbled.  
“I don't know,” Clary responded, she looked up to her mom and gave a smile, “you're okay with all of this?”  
“To save the mundanes, of course, but it better work.”  
Lydia began to bite down on her bottom lip, she jumped slightly when Simon Lewis sped in front of them, behind him was Raphael and a few other vampires.  
“There was a long discussion,” Simon pulled a face, “but the good news is, we've got backup,” he gestured to the vampires.  
“Did you kiss and make up?” Izzy gave Simon a chuckle and a wink, Simon stared at her with wide eyes.  
Magnus was stood by Alec, both of them glanced up at the building, “well,” Magnus began to wave a hand about, “we better go inside and help them out.”  
“I know now isn't the best time,” Alec spoke quietly, he glanced over to Lydia, Clary and Izzy, “but I told you so.”  
“Luke's on his way,” Jocelyn whispered as they all began to approach the building, the vampires stayed at the entrance, other than Simon and Raphael who rushed up the stairs with the Shadowhunters. Magnus and Alec stopped in the hallway as part of the plan, stay outside the room as backup just in case anyone else tried to enter.

***

Jonas stared at the man as he spoke, “so this one's Jonas? The lover?”  
“Yes,” the blond boy answered.  
“Well, it would be a shame to ruin Lydia's lovelife again, wouldn't it?” He laughed, “first love dead, second man gay, third one dead.”  
He grabbed Jonas' by his neck and pushed him up against the wall, behind him Jonas saw the door open. The man glanced back over hs shoulder, “Jocelyn, Clarissa, glad to see you're here to finally join your family.”  
“Absolutely,” the older woman held her head high, “we'd love to join you...”  
“In hell,” the shorter continued, Jonas recognised her as Lydia's friend Clary. Clary and the woman, who must have been her mother, pulled out the same glowing blades he had seen Jace with.  
Jonas then saw two men appear behind the two with the blades, they actually hissed and from the distance he could make out sharp fangs. Just after they came in, Lydia rushed in, her eyes went wide as she caught sight of him.  
“Jonas!” She squeaked as they locked eyes.  
“Jonathan,” the man looked over to his son with a smile, then he nodded his head to Jonas. Jonas was watching the blond, he pulled out a short blade, not a glowing one, just a regular looking blade. He stepped forward, Jonas' eyes went wide as he held up the blade.  
“No!” He heard Lydia almost scream as the blond plunged the blade into his chest. He barely had time to react to what was happening. The man let go of him and he dropped to down to the ground, struggling to breathe, “Jonas!” He realised Lydia was next to him. 

***

Krysta sat up straight when she saw what was happening, she didn't scream. But she felt her own heartbreak as she watched the blade go into Jonas' chest, it didn't look like it would have hit his heart but he could die any minute and Krysta would be losing her own friend. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, terrified she'd be next she looked around, the man was tall he held his finger to his lips.  
“I'm on your side,” he whispered, he crouched down, “stay still whilst I get this off.”  
He quickly broke whatever it was that was binding Krysta's wrists together.  
“Thank you,” Krysta whispered, she pushed herself to stand up and quickly rushed behind some crates that she could see. The man did the same to Winn, he only stood up but he didn't hide.  
The man turned and saw Winn who was now standing up, the man who had helped them had hidden himself behind another wall, “Jonathan, where is the female Mundane?”  
The blond boy shrugged, “I... I don't know,” Jonathan answered.  
“She's safe,” Winn responded, he crossed his arms, “so whatever you have to do to me, please do.”  
The blond started moving towards Winn but before Krysta could even blink, the two men from the door flashed over to stand in front of Winn, they hissed and bared fangs at him, so perhaps vampires were real after all.  
“Sweet,” Winn commented.  
“I know right,” one of them glanced back to Winn wth a goofy smile.  
A fight soon began, Krysta saw the man, the blond's father, was beginning to back away as his son was fighting the two vampires. One of them, the quicker of the two, knocked the glowing blade that he was holding out of his hand. Krysta glanced down as the blade disappeared and the hilt landed by her feet. She picked it up and looked towards the long line of windows. She grinned and ran over to it, she spun back quickly. Among the chaos Lydia had taken Jonas out but now she was back in the room, holding her own blade.  
The blond caught sight of Krysta, he saw the hilt in her hand. Krysta held out a hand to stop him and then pushed open one of the windows, “I'll drop it, don't test me.”  
The blond scowled and continued to walk forward so Krysta quickly let go of the hilt. Winn went to step in front of the blond but he pushed him out of the way and walked straight towards Krysta. The two vampires were now focused on other men who had appeared at some point, Krysta had no idea how.  
Lydia appeared by Krysta's side and gave her a quick smile, “Jonas will be okay, Warlock magic will be able to heal him.”  
“I'm going to pretend I understood that,” Krysta nodded.  
The red haired girl run up to the blond from behind, “Jace!”  
He spun around.  
“Clarissa.”  
“Jace you don't have to do this, any of this, you're not Valentine.”  
“No, and I'm not Jace either!”  
Lydia grabbed Krysta's hand and waved Winn to follow, she tried to lead them toward the exit but a tall man stood in their way holding another one of the blades. Lydia and the man quickly began to strike at each other with them, not managing to actually hit one another. Lydia grew frustrated as she didn't hit target. Lydia had managed to get to a point where the man's back was to Krysta, Krysta quickly ran forward and wrapped an arm around the man's throat, in the second of distraction Lydia stabbed her blade into the man's stomach. Krysta saw a strange flash and the man she was holding disintegrated in her grasp.  
“This just keeps getting better,” Winn whispered.  
“Go out to the hallway,” Lydia pointed them to the door, “Magnus and Alec are out there, Magnus is healing Jonas right now.”  
Krysta and Winn both nodded and then left the room where the fighting was taking place. They rushed around a corner and Winn pulled Krysta to a stop when he saw the men they were looking for.  
“Alec,” Winn jogged up to the men, Krysta slowly approached them, cocking her head to the side as she did. One of them was stood up, leaning back against the wall. Another one was crouched down over Jonas waving his hands, then Krysta noticed the blue sparks that seemed to fall from his fingers. A moment later she recognised them both, they had been there when Lydia had finally arrived to the wedding, blaming themselves for her tardiness.  
The taller one turned to Winn and rolled his eyes, “you survived then.”  
“I did, thanks for being so excited.”  
“Oh, I really tried not to be,” Alec replied in the most monotone voice Krysta had ever heard.  
“Is Jonas going to be okay?” Krysta asked, looking down at him he seemed gone, his eyes were clothes and she couldn't tell if he was breathing or not.  
“He will be,” Alec responded, “Magnus is the high warlock of Brooklyn, he's actually quite powerful.”  
“Thank you Alexander,” Magnus replied quietly as he stayed focused on Jonas.  
Krysta and Winn watched as Magnus healed their friend in anticaption, they just wanted to make sure Jonas was okay, he meant the world to them both after all. 

***

Valentine had left with Jace following behind him once he realised that their plan had fallen through, it tore Clary apart to see him leave again but she knew they'd get him back eventually. Izzy's whip retreated to be the bracelet around her wrist and she gave Clary a small smile, “hey, at least we saved the mundies.”  
“Yeah.”  
Simon grinned as he finally managed to get Raphael to bump his fist, “that was our main goal, and we did it, see this is why downworlders and shadowhunters should always team up.”  
“Out of the question,” Alec almost laughed as he entered the room, “Lydia, you'll be happy to know all your mundanes are alive and well.”  
Lydia wanted to run out the door but Alec stopped her, “they already left... I didn't hear what they said to Jonas but then Jonas said he just wanted to go home... So... They left.”  
Lydia looked defeated but she gave a nod, “alright.”  
“And we should probably get home too, I don't know about you vampires.”  
“We have a few more hours until daylight,” Raphael shrugged, “we'll find some way to spend it.”  
“Alright.”  
Lydia wondered why Jonas was in such a rush to leave, and why he didn't wait for her before leaving. She tried to push the thought to the back of her mind as she followed the others out of the room. Luke gave her a look of concern as he stood by the doorway but she gave him a quick smile and he nodded, as though no longer concerned. Lydia pressed her lips together as the group stopped outside of the building. The vampires grouped up and sped off. Magnus offered to portal them back to the Institute then quickly waved his hands to create a portal. Luke stood back and waved off the Shadowhunters, saying he could make it back to Jade Wolf easily. Magnus made his way through the portal with the Shadowhunters.  
Lydia kept the same expression on her face as she walked through the Institute, only letting the look drop when she made it into the office. She pressed her back against the door and shut her eyes, she felt a tear drop down her cheek, Jonas leaving like that should have affected her in the way it did, but she needed the simple moment to be emotional about it. Hopefully they could talk about it tomorrow, she'd finally have to tell him the truth of the Shadow World, he knew too much now.

***

Jonas somehow found himself in Winn's kitchen the next morning, he didn't feel as though he had been stabbed in the chest, but he knew he had. Krysta was watching him from the table, she had elbows propped on the table and her head resting in her hands.  
“You're going to talk to Lydia, right?”  
“Probably not,” he whispered the reply as he grabbed an apple from a fruit bowl. Winn came into the kitchen and Jonas avoided eye contact with him.  
“You're not going to ignore me are you?”  
“Gee, I don't know, depends how long you've known about all this crap,” he hissed, “I'm only actually here to talk to Krysta.”  
“I literally found out about it all yesterday morning.”  
Jonas shook his head, he looked up as there was a knock at the door. Krysta smiled, “I'll get that.”  
Jonas and Winn stayed silent until Krysta came back into the kitchen, Lydia was behind her.  
“Great,” Jonas mumbled under his breath, he bit into his apple as though it could stop him from getting angry.  
“Jonas, I think we should talk about the thing now.”  
“Perfect timing,” Jonas stood up straight, “I mean like really perfect, before I almost die or anything like that, yeah let's talk about the thing now.”  
“Jonas...”  
“If that Warlock hadn't been there, I'd be dead.”  
Krysta pointed out of the kitchen and then rushed out, Winn quickly followed. Jonas dropped the half-eaten apple onto the counter and sat down at the table, Lydia slowly approached his chair, “I didn't want to tell you... Because I thought you would get hurt, I was trying to protect you.”  
“Well now I know you're not human.”  
“What?”  
“If you were normal, if you'd seen any superhero movie, you'd know that whenever the hero doesn't tell their loved one because 'they don't want them to get hurt' the loved one always gets hurt, or worse, they die. Oh, and guess what, you didn't tell me, and I almost died, that's great.”  
“Jonas.”  
“I knew you were keeping a secret from me, but I think it would have hurt worse if you had a secret boyfriend, it would hurt less if you were cheating on me.”  
“I'd never-”  
“Never cheat on me, but you won't hesitate to keep a whole other world secret from me!”  
“It was hard to explain.”  
Jonas shook his head, “I don't want to talk about this right now.”  
“Jonas please.”  
“No, I just think that... I think I should go back to my place, be alone for a while. I'll call you whenever I'm ready to talk, if I'm ever ready,” he stood up from his seat and quickly left the kitchen. Lydia heard the door to the apartment open and close again. She turned around as Krysta ran back into the kitchen.  
“Lydia?"  
“I think he just broke up with me.”


	10. The Mundane Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia struggles to hide her emotions and Alec only wants to let her be happy again.

Lydia threw herself back into her work, being begged by Izzy and Clary to stay at the Institute, Izzy was certain she'd be able to help Lydia and Jonas patch things up but Lydia shrugged it off, if he didn't want her he didn't want her. He hadn't called her in a week, he was probably better off after all. Izzy tried to talk to Lydia at one point but Clary gently pulled her away insisting she wanted to be alone. Lydia haad heard that moment, yes she wanted to be alone but she also didn't want to be alone, she wanted somebody to hold her and tell her it would be fine, Jonas was just having a moment – it happens when you get stabbed and almost die. She saw Alec across the room and she knew he was watching her so she quickly placed what she was holding on a table and walked over to him – despite hearing Raj question where she was going. When she reached him she pressed herself against him and wrapped her arms around him. Throughout the entire process with Jonas he had been acting like a brother to her, and she needed him to comfort her in this moment. He did. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.  
“It'll be okay Lydia,” he whispered, “do you want to talk about it?”  
“I just want to be comforted.”  
“Alright,” Alec nodded and rubbed Lydia's back, “do you want to go somewhere else?”  
Lydia mumbled a yes as she pressed her face against Alec's chest, they quickly left the area and found themselves sitting on the edge of Alec's bed, Alec kept his hand on Lydia's back as she let the tears fall down her cheeks.  
She didn't know how long she had been crying, or how long Alec had been humming to comfort her but eventually Alec stood up.  
“Lydia, why don't you take a nap? That usually helps me when I'm feeling down.”  
Lydia gave Alec a smile, “I suppose so.”  
“Just take a nap in here, I'm going to go talk to Magnus,” Alec watched as Lydia shuffled to lie down on his bed. He left the room and shut the door quietly, he wasn't going to see Magnus but it was the easiest lie. He looked around before heading the Institute quickly before heading outside.

***

Jonas heard a knock at his door, he groaned and slowly made his way over to it. He wasn't really dressed for anyone to see him, just baggy pajama pants and a t-shirt that actually belonged to Winn but he never returned it after borrowing it. He opened the door and immediately had to look up, tall, dark and handsome stood in front of him, Lydia's ex fiance.   
“Jonas,” he looked down at Jonas, “can I speak to you?”  
“Well... If you must,” Jonas mumbled as Alec walked through the door, Jonas closed the door and turned to him, “it's about Lydia, isn't it?”  
“No I came over because I thought 'maybe Jonas and I should be together',” he replied in a low tone and crossed his arms, “of course it's about Lydia.”  
Jonas sighed and rushed past Alec, he fell down onto the sofa and let out a grunt, “great well, say what you want to say I guess.”  
“You're mad at her because she didn't tell you about the shadow world, she didn't tell you that she's a Shadowhunter.”  
“Yeah, I guess that's why,” Jonas replied sarcastically.  
“There's a reason she didn't tell you.”  
“Why's that then?”  
Alec hesitated, then he glared down at Jonas and gave a sigh, “because... Because I told her not to.”  
“What?”  
“I told her not to tell tell you,” Alec's arms were crossed as he spoke, “I said it would be too dangerous for a mundane to know, then, well she told Winn about it all – the same day you guys were taken.”  
“And almost killed,” Jonas added.  
“I told Lydia that being involved with mundane, being with you, could end badly.”  
“And it did.”  
“It hasn't ended,” Alec dropped his arms to the side and glared down at Jonas, “it's been a week since you broke up with Lydia, the last time Lydia was this upset about something was when John died.”  
“He was a shadowhunter too?”  
“He was killed by demons. Ever since then Lydia has never let her emotions get in the way, then she met you. Everything she did when you to were together, she did it for you, she opened herself up to her emotions again and now? Now she has cried herself to sleep on my bed, because she blames herself for letting you get hurt, she blames herself for listening to me and not letting you know the truth. If you knew the truth, you might have been more prepared,” he paused and watched as Jonas stared at the floor, “and listen, I'm willing to do something I would never do, for the sake of Lydia.”  
“What's that?”  
“I'm inviting you to come with me to the Institute,” Alec let out a defeated sigh, “so that you and Lydia can talk to each other, are you willing to forgive her?”  
“I... I shouldn't have to forgive her,” Jonas replied quietly, “she was just doing as you asked.”  
Alec felt himself smile, he waved his hand, “great so let's go.”  
“Wait, I need to get changed first.”  
Alec watched Jonas run through to his bedroom, he shook his head and let out a small laugh, he owed Lydia this much, it wasn't like he was lying, he had told Lydia not to tell Jonas but he didn't know if that was really what kept Lydia from telling Jonas.

***

“Lydia? Lydia.”  
Lydia stirred awake, she felt a hand on her shoulder and swore she heard Jonas' voice, she didn't think it was real, until she opened her eyes and saw him smiling down at her, “Jonas.”  
“Hey.”  
“Jonas, wh-what are you doing here?”  
“I brought him here,” Lydia glanced over to the door where Alec was leaning against the doorframe, “explained how you only kept this world a secret because I told you to,” he quickly gave Lydia a wink, “now if I leave the room, you two aren't going to have sex on my bed, are you? Izzy told me about Winn's sofa.”  
“We won't,” Jonas replied, he hadn't looked at Alec at all, he was only looking at Lydia the entire time. He could see where Lydia had been crying and it made him want to hold her and never let go. When Alec left the room Jonas slowly leaned down and pressed a kiss on Lydia's lips, when he pulled back she was smiling brightly, “I'm so sorry Lydia, I wish I had known Alec had told you to stay quiet.”  
“I... It's okay Jonas.”  
“I didn't even let you explain yourself,” Jonas moved his hand, he placed it over Lydia's hand and pressed his lip together as he smiled, “I should have.”  
“It's okay Jonas,” Lydia repeated with a small laugh, “the point is you know now.”  
“I'm so sorry.”  
Lydia sat up straight, she was grinning, “if you want... I can tell you everything, everything about the shadow world.”  
“That'd be nice,” Jonas nodded quickly.


	11. The Mundane and The Shadowhunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia and Jonas find a loophole in Shadowhunter law.

It had been a few months since the near death incident, Lydia and Jonas were both deeply in love with each other but they knew that no matter how much they loved each other, as a Shadowhunter Lydia wouldn't be able to marry a mundane there were options to take of course, Jonas could ascend and drink from the mortal cup (which wasn't that good of an option right now seeing as Valentine still had the cup) or Lydia could be stripped of her runes.   
Lydia found herself talking to Izzy and Clary about the topic over coffee, much like when she had first seen Jonas – but this time they were also joined by Krysta.   
“Does it suck?” Clary hummed, “knowing that you and Jonas can't... get married?”  
“Marriage isn't everything,” Krysta quickly commented, “Winn and I love each other, being married just meant that I got to change my last name.”  
“From Belmonte?” Lydia cocked her head to the side.  
“Legally yes, but I always unofficially called myself Krysta Denvers after I started living with Jonas.”  
Izzy raised an eyebrow, “why did you start living with Jonas?”  
“My mom was biphobic, she said some bad stuff about Jonas and told me if I supported him I should leave, so I did,” Krysta shrugged.  
Clary shook her head, “I don't understand how people can hate other people for their sexuality, like just let people be whoever they are.”  
“If you ever want a new mother, get Jocelyn to adopt you,” Izzy beamed, “she loves Clary no matter what.”  
“My mom is the coolest,” Clary nodded as she placed her hand over Izzy's, “but she's my mother Izzy, not yours.”  
“That would be weird wouldn't it? First with your brother then your own sister?” Izzy began to laugh.  
“Okay firstly Jace isn't my brother, we've been through this, secondly, that's just a disturbing thought,” Clary giggled as she shivered.  
“Oh you two are dating?” Krysta leaned forward in excitemeny, “that's cute.”  
“Thanks,” Izzy gave her a wink.   
“So wait,” Lydia had her head cocked to the side in thought, “you don't think lack of marriage should affect love?”  
Krysta let out a laugh as a response, “of course it shouldn't! You and Jonas don't need to get married, you know how much you love each other, if you don't know, I definitely know, it's a lot. Jonas looks at you the way he used to look at my mother's freshly baked cookies, with love and adoration.”   
“I'm a cookie to him?”  
“Like a cookie he never wants to finish eating.”  
“This got suggestive,” Clary whispered to Izzy who let out a short huff of laughter.

***

Krysta and Lydia made it home later in the afternoon. Krysta and Winn had recently moved in together after Winn's landlord ordered for him to move due to the 'havoc he caused' – which was actually the day that they were kidnapped. They moved into a new home and quickly invited Jonas to live with them and they also insisted that Lydia can stay with them whenever she felt like it. She was slowly getting further into the mundane world and it actually made her comfortable sometimes, her, Winn and Krysta had even gone on a shopping trip to pick out some clothes for her. She kept those clothes at the new home. Winn was sat on the sofa with his headphones on, he had waved at them when they came in but they could tell he was busy trying to learn whatever song he was listening to. Lydia walked straight through to Jonas' room – which was also her and Jonas' shared room, he was sat on the bed with paper scattered around him, she watched him for a second as he scribbled down words into his notebook.  
“And so the mundane man rushes to finish his sentence so he can speak to the angel he's so in love with,” she teased, speaking to him like he had spoken to her at the beginning of their relationship, “and she returns that love with all her heart.”  
“Precious,” Jonas commented, he looked up quickly, “I was actually trying to finish a scene because it's breaking my heart to write it, but I can put it on pause for my beautiful shadowhunter.”  
Lydia smiled and sat on the edge of the bed where she wouldn't crease any of Jonas' sheets, “if you're killing of one of your characters.”  
“Afraid so,” Jonas shrugged, “sorry.”  
Lydia pouted, “Jonas.”  
“Oh hey I actually have something to ask you,” Jonas jumped up, “follow me,” he walked out into the main room where Winn and Krysta were sat on the sofa, Krysta had her feet up on Winn's lap as he continued to listen to his music. When Winn saw Jonas and Lydia enter the room he quickly – and casually – pulled off his headphones and gave Krysta a small smile.  
“What is it?” Lydia asked as she watched Jonas reach into a bag that was leaning up against the coffee table.  
“Well, miss Lydia Branwell, you Shadowhunters have your laws, no marrying a mundane unless they ascend or you lose your runes,” he mimicked the Shadowhunter law by pulling a face and it actually made Lydia laugh, “so I thought, how do I show how much I love Lydia? Do I wait for the return of the mortal cup and ascend? Do I beg her to lose her runes? But you know what, I could never change for you, and you could never change for me because we love each other how we are. We fell in love with each other like this – besides I'd be the worst shadowhunter ever. So how do I show you my love? I ask you one question. Lydia Branwell, will you promise to never marry me?”  
Lydia began to grin, knowing they would stay together but never marry definitely seemed like a great idea, she gave a nod, “of course Jonas, I promise I'll never marry you.”  
Lydia went to hug him but Jonas quickly held up a hand, “hold on,” he then showed her the necklace he was holding in his other hand, “a necklace, as a gift for my never-wife.”  
“Never-wife? That's cute,” she laughed as he placed the necklace around her neck, “I guess that makes you my never-husband?”  
“Of course,” Jonas whispered, he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, “never-wife and never-husband.”

***

“So what exactly do you call this?” Alec asked as he looked at Lydia and Jonas, his arms were crossed and one of his eyebrows were raised. Magnus was stood by his side looking just as curious. Clary and Izzy were also stood there, grinning away.  
“A loophole,” Lydia replied with a quick eyebrow raise.  
“The never-marriage of a shadowhunter and a mundane,” Jonas let out a sigh, “we're like starcrossed lovers.”  
“Honestly, I think this is the most romantic thing,” Clary clapped her hands together, “and so... smart!”  
“Thanks,” Jonas and Lydia replied in sync.  
“Man I can't believe this,” Izzy whispered, she began to grin quickly, “it's amazing, beautiful. It's like... A revolutionary move, the mundane man and the shadowhunter woman, put that in your novel, Jonas,” she gave the man a quick wink and a giggle.  
“Bit late for that,” Jonas returned the wink.   
“Are you absolutely insane?” The orderly voice of Maryse made every turn, she had her hand on her hips as she approached the group, “honestly, I thought it was bad enough having my son date a warlock and my daughter dating Valentine's daughter, but you, a respected envoy from the clave, dating a mundane?”  
Lydia rolled her eyes, “wake up Maryse, the world is changing, even the shadow world. The only one making a controversy about all of this is you, you're too stubborn to accept the changes.”  
“Like people that don't like book to tv adaptions,” Jonas whispered quietly to nobody in particular.  
“So what if we're dating people that shadowhunters usually don't date?” Lydia crossed her hands and held her head high, she enjoyed the shocked look that covered Maryse's face, “I mean really, I have a great relationship with Jonas. Magnus and Alec have a great relationship and so do Izzy and Clary. I mean really, shouldn't you love the fact that your daughter is dating the daughter of someone you used to admire? Shame on us for being in love, but you know, no shame on your for being a former circle member.”  
A moment of silence washed over the group until Alec and Izzy both let out a scoff of laughter, Izzy began to smile, “she told you.”  
“Izzy.”  
“Really mom, Lydia has a point. You didn't like downworlders, so you don't like Alec being with Magnus. Now you don't like Valentine, so you don't like me being with Clary, you can make up your excuses but you're coming across just as bad as Valentine.”  
Alec let out a shocked chuckle as he watched his mother turn away and storm off, “girl I must say,” he grinned at both Izzy and Lydia, “you're feisty and I love you both so much.”  
“I just want to be in love without anyone telling me it's wrong,” Izzy shrugged as she placed an arm over Clary's shoulder.  
Lydia nodded in agreement, she looked to Jonas – who was watching her in awe. He was looking at her they way she recalled John looking at her when he first saw her kill a demon, Jonas' mouth twitched up into a smile, and he slowly leaned forward. Lydia quickly copied him and caught his lips in a short kiss. They pulled away and pressed their foreheads together.  
“Shadowhunters have their laws,” Lydia began to speak, she glanced around the group, “but they also have their loopholes.”  
“A promise never to marry,” Jonas whispered to her, “but to stay together, who needs marriage?”

***

Jonas and Lydia kept their relationship strong, no marriage, no punishment, no changes, they loved each other as they were. Their promise to never marry stuck. Lydia always wore her necklace, newly named the 'never-marriage necklace', it was in someways like a wedding ring but it was also quite different from that. Before Lydia went on a hunt she'd hold the necklace and shut her eyes, Jonas knew that there was always a risk of death with her but he didn't let it scare him, she thought of him before leaving for the hunts. There may have been dangerous moments that threatened their relationship but they still pulled through, getting together whenever they could – which was actually a majority of the time. Lydia's parents found out quickly, apparently news spread quickly to Idris; 'Lydia Branwell with a mundane? She doesn't even want to keep it a secret' 'this is even more shocking than the Lightwood son with the warlock'. Lydia didn't care what they'd have to say about her in Idris, because her friends at the Institute were happy for her and so were her new friends in the mundane world. She didn't need to be accepted in Idris when she had everyone who loved her around her. Especially when she had Jonas.


End file.
